The Kurdish Quasi-State

Cover

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pp. 1-

Title Page, Copyright Page

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pp. 4-5

Contents

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pp. 8-

Illustrations

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pp. 10-

Tables

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pp. 12-

Preface

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pp. 14-17

When I first traveled to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in 1992 it was to analyze the controversial election outcomes that created the fi rst Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Socioeconomic conditions at that time were as unstable as the newly created parliament. Th ere was no food in the markets, no salaries...

Abbreviations

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pp. 18-19

Introduction

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pp. 20-34

Since the 1990 Persian Gulf War, the political economy of Iraq has been marked by a breakdown of state authority, criminality, and socioeconomic deterioration. War entrepreneurs circumvented the internationally imposed sanctions regime (UNSCR 687) by instrumentalizing humanitarian aid and creating new forms of wealth, inequalities, and...

1. Structural Legacies

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pp. 38-65

During the colonial and postcolonial periods in Iraq, external aid to the Kurdistan Region was virtually nonexistent. Th e strategic interests of competing foreign governments were based on defining territorial borders, stabilizing the new Iraqi state, and securing petroleum resources. Even with the emergence of the state petroleum industry in the early 1950s, the nature...

2. The Relief Phase

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pp. 66-88

The 1990 Persian Gulf War and its subsequent aid programs rescaled the development trajectory of the Kurdistan Region. Foreign assistance targeted not only the sovereign Iraqi state but also the Kurds as victims of Saddam Hussein. International aid created a relatively stable environment that permitted economic recovery, rehabilitation, and institution building. It also offered...

3. From Relief to Rehabilitation

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pp. 89-111

Although the U.S.-funded relief program ended in 1996, external aid to the Kurdistan Region continued under the OFFP. Ongoing assistance provided the necessary external patronage and international support to help keep the Kurdish quasi-state alive, as well as to encourage political stability, institution building, and new forms of revenue generation. Over time, the aid...

4. The Democracy Mission

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pp. 112-139

With the Anglo-American intervention in Iraq and overthrow of Saddam Hussein in April 2003, the nature of external aid to the Kurdish quasistate changed in important ways. Foreign assistance no longer centered on the traditional delivery of goods and services but on capacity building and long-term development. It also recognized the KRG as a legitimate political...

5. Dependent Quasi-State

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pp. 140-163

Emergent cleavages in Kurdish society may have shaken the traditional political establishment in the north; however, they have occurred while the rest of Iraq has stagnated economically and as important political issues remain unresolved between Arbil and Baghdad. With ongoing security problems in key Iraqi cities, and uninterrupted external patronage and international...

Conclusions

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pp. 164-173

This detailed case study reveals that the transition of the unrecognized Kurdistan Region to a quasi-state is more complex than symbolic nation building or the will of the people to be apart from the central government. Rather, it is a by-product of international aid of which the “benefits of stalemate” are derived— recognition, legitimacy, and development. External aid channeled...

Glossary

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pp. 176-177

References

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pp. 178-189

Index

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pp. 190-195