9. 10. 2024
This episode of The IR thinker examines the evolving politics of the Kurds with Dr Marianna Charountaki, from the impact of the 2003 US invasion on the Kurdistan Regional Government and the fallout of the 2017 independence referendum to relations with Türkiye, Baghdad and external powers such as Russia. The conversation explores global perceptions of the Kurds, their role in counter-terrorism and the Syrian conflict, and their continuing struggle for recognition, rights and a viable political future.
Dr Marianna Charountaki is Senior Lecturer in International Politics at the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom. Her research focuses on international relations theory, foreign policy analysis and Middle East area studies, with particular attention to Kurdish politics and the foreign policies of regional and external powers in the region.
Publications:
The Kurds and US Foreign Policy: International Relations in the Middle East since 1945
From resistance to military institutionalisation: the case of the peshmerga versus the Islamic State
Iran and Turkey: International and Regional Engagement in the Middle East
State and non-state interactions in International Relations: an alternative theoretical outlook
Mapping Non-State Actors in International Relations
Content
00:00 – Introduction
02:19 – Impact of the 2003 U.S. Invasion on the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG)
06:02 – Global Perceptions of the Kurds
08:29 – Türkiye’s Response to the PKK
12:25 – Current Relations Between Türkiye and the KRG
18:15 – Effects of the 2017 Kurdish Independence Referendum
25:49 – The Kurds’ Role in Fighting Terrorism and Western Relations
38:32 – KRG-Baghdad Relations on Oil Exports to Türkiye
46:51 – Russia’s Relations with the Kurds
54:38 – Human Rights and Crackdowns on Kurdish Political Parties
01:00:04 – The Kurds’ Role in the Syrian Conflict
01:08:51 – Future Political Goals