The Kurds and the state evolving national identity in Iraq Turkey and Iran 1st Edition by Denise Natali ISBN 0815630840 9780815630845

The Kurds and the State: Evolving National Identity in Iraq, Turkey, and Iran by Denise Natali offers a critical and nuanced examination of Kurdish nationalism by challenging essentialist and static views of Kurdish identity. Instead of treating Kurdishness (Kurdayetî) as a fixed ethnic trait, Natali argues that Kurdish national identity is shaped by the specific political environments—what she calls “political spaces”—of the modern states in which Kurds live. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and comparative analysis, she shows how Iraqi, Turkish, and Iranian state policies have variably suppressed, reshaped, or accommodated Kurdish expression. The book underscores that Kurdish identity is not uniform across borders but evolves in response to shifting political opportunities, constraints, and transnational influences. This approach reframes the Kurdish question not merely as a nationalist struggle, but as a dynamic interaction between state structures and minority identity formation.