The Kurdish Quasi-State: Development and Dependency in Post-Gulf War Iraq (review)

Denise Natali has given us a short, sophisticated analysis of the evolutionary development of what she terms the "Kurdish quasi-state" in northern Iraq, which is officially known as the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). She defines quasi-states as "political entities that have internal but not external sovereignty and seek some form of autonomy or independence. They are part of a failed state or an outcome of unfair postimperial boundary markers" (p. xxi). Her basic thesis is that the type of foreign aid received by the Iraqi Kurds has determined what kind of political, economic, and social entity they have been able to construct. "This book ... aims to show that while structural legacies and ethnic traditions have historically defined the relationship between the Kurds and the central government, external aid has created new dependencies and interdependencies, and avenues for conflict and cooperation" (p. xx).

Natali's book deserves attention because she has lived and worked in the region first in disaster relief and post-conflict reconstruction programs and subsequently as a professor teaching in various universities since 1992. These positions have given her unique opportunities to develop ties with indigenous personnel and engage in field work with an authority that would be difficult for outside observers or occasional visitors to equal. Natali also has a quick energy and keen eye that serve her well. She backs up her analysis with a sound grounding in the relevant scholarly literature, although she does miss such important works as those published recently by Brendan O'Leary and David Romano, among others.

After a detailed introduction that explains her thesis, Natali divides her analysis into five chapters plus a conclusion. The first chapter examines how historical legacies and structural institutions impeded development before the first Gulf War in 1991. During this period, foreign aid to the Kurdish region of Iraq "was virtually nonexistent" (p. 1). "Whereas the Iraqi economy benefited from the dynamic changes that pushed development ... , allowing it to acquire foreign capital and penetrate world markets with petroleum resources, the Kurdistan Region remained disconnected from world markets and politics" (p. 28). "The nature of external aid offered neither international recognition nor internal sovereignty to the rural Kurdistan Region, which allowed isolation, instability, and underdevelopment to prevail" (p. 4).

The remaining four chapters analyze the various foreign aid programs that followed the 1991 Gulf War and how they influenced the development of the KRG. Chapter 2, entitled "The Relief Phase [1991-1996]," shows how foreign aid encouraged the formation of quasi-statehood. "These efforts at strengthening Kurdish autonomy, however, were checked by the nature of the aid program, which assured the territorial integrity of Iraq and not a self-sustaining Kurdistan Region" (p. 29). "The notion of [Iraqi] state sovereignty remained sacrosanct" (p. xxii).

The Oil for Food Program phase (1996-2003) moved the quasi-state "from relief to rehabilitation," which is the title of the third chapter. "Yet the conditionalities of the aid program, tied to the one-Iraq policy, continued to limit the self-sufficiency and leverage of the Kurdish quasi-state" (p. 74). Chapter 4, "The Democracy Mission [2003-present]," illustrates how foreign assistance importantly altered. It "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 entity in a federal Iraq, with rights and revenues provided in a new Iraqi constitution" (p. 75). The United States focused on controlling Iraqi oil, defeating terrorism, and establishing a pro-Western, liberal democratic Iraq. The Kurdish quasi-state became a power broker in Baghdad. On the other hand, unintended consequences included cleavages within the quasi-state caused by its newly created political economy.

"Dependent Quasi-State" is the subject of Chapter 5. Although the KRG has prospered as "The Other Iraq," given the...