A People Without a Country: The Kurds and Kurdistan

by Gérard Chaliand (Editor)

Other authorsDavid McDowall (Foreword), Michael Pallis (Translator)

Paperback, 1993

Status

Checked out

Genres

General Nonfiction

History

Politics, Government, Law and Public Policy

Nonfiction

Collection

07-Decolonisation

Publication

Interlink Pub Group Inc (1993), 320 pages

Description

The 16 million Kurds are the largest nation in the world with no state of their own. Their history is one of constant revolts and bloody repression, massacres, deportations and renewed insurrection.This classic collection of writings from Kurdish intellectuals and other internationally respected experts discusses the origins of Kurdish nationalism and analyzes their contemporary demand for autonomy in the aftermath of the Gulf crisisand the setting up of safe havens.It combines historical analysis of the Kurds under the Ottoman Empire with a thorough study of Kurdish life in all areas of Kurdistan - Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria and the former Soviet Union. Later sections cover recent Kurdish history, with the emphasis on the Iraqi Kurds and the Kurdish movement in Turkey. Also included is an assessment of… (more)

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A history of the Kurdish people from the fall of the Ottoman Empire until the late 20th century, this work offers a collection of essays about the unique experience of Kurds under foreign governance (especially Turkish, Iranian, and Iraqi) and highlights common themes of the Kurdish struggle in

each area (e.g. disunity, distrust, tribalism). The book succeeds in describing the convergence of Turkish, Persian, Arab, and Western influences that have subjugated Kurdish interests in Kurdistan, but fails to provide a context (cultural, political, etc.) for understanding the Kurdish people or the Kurdish movement beyond dates, statistics, and military alliances. In all, the book was a disappointment – dated and highly politicized. C

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