.jpg)
By Freeyad Ibrahim: Is the Downfall of a Tyrant Enough? Change in Mind before Change on the Ground If you look carefully at human history, you conclude that almost all revolutionary acts have proved after a while to be failures – sarab, a mirage. The people begin to exchange frustrated looks, muttering unsatisfactorily, “This was…
By Assistant Professor Joost Jongerden, Wageningen University: This article was first published by Radical Turkey – Centre for Policy and Research on Turkey Abstract In 2005, the Partiya Karkêren Kurdistani (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) (PKK) announced that it considered the nation-state a hindrance on the road to freedom, and that its strategic objective was not the…
By Rizgar Anwar Abdullah: After the end of direct European imperialism, a kind of autonomy was given to various tribal groups within the new Independent states, and the power in each of those states, including economic power, was controlled by a family or a tribe with absolute force. And that’s without any regard for the indigenous…
By Ausama Anwar: “Two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” said Albert Einstein, one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century. Such kind of quotes should not be taken for granted, without knowing their deep meaning and intention. So what we will do here is…
By Mohammed Hussein: The Iraqi political situation is a proper case to show the challenges and problems of post-colonial states; problems that have not let these states create normal citizenship, strong economies and real sovereignty. Consequently, many of these states have faced civil wars, economic collapse and strong deadlock that have stopped their development and…
By a Correspondent: Five years ago, a bright light shone on the dark political arena in Iraqi Kurdistan. Frustrated Iraqi Kurds, once more, felt the hope that they’d had during the battle against the Baath regime. The hope was and still seems to be the Change Movement. A majority of the sophisticated and the frustrated…
By Rebwar Rawf Salih: The crux of this question is in the theory of the ‘rentier state’. Democratisation has to be distinguished from political liberalisation; the former refers to the openness of the political system to more actors or groups, but the latter refers to the provision of rights, which are usually given by governments and…
Reading Response By Pashew Majeed: “Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how…
By Ausama Anwar: An ideology is a system of ideas based on a way of thinking. Some aspects came from a situation or from an era when it was ‘needed’ or a big deal at the time. Some ideologies persist beyond their eras until now, with some changes in their principles and ways. Many political…
Interview with Muhammad Waladbagi, PhD Candidate: Interviewed by Aras Ahmed Mhamad AAM: How do you look at the Kurdish Question both historically and politically? What do you think is the roadmap to independence? MW: Well, this is a broad topic to cover in a single question. It is not easy to cover Kurdish history, politics…
By Ibrahim Anwar: Every state has been established by a power which can be called ‘Political Power’, but there is another power – Social Power – based on the citizens. Social Power often stands against Political Power so that, if at any time Political Power wants to move alone and develop an authoritarian regime, Social…
An Interview with Dr Wayne Lavender by Aras Ahmed Mhamad: Dr. Lavender is a university professor who taught for 18 Months in Slemani. AA: The US imposes its language through media, its culture and currency all over the world and it has the most destructive types of atomic bombs and weapons. Do you think people…
An Interview with Dr Wayne Lavender by Aras Ahmed Mhamad: Dr Wayne Lavender is a university professor who taught for 18 months in Slemani. AA: Through history people have become victims of war, corruption and violence. What do you think is the source of war? WL: I think there are multiple causes/sources for war. The…
By Jalal Hasan: Translated by Aras Ahmed Mhamad The question that is always asked before elections is: which political party will win the majority of the votes and which will lose some of their votes and popularity? This question has also been asked in Kurdistan’s elections. Kurdish political parties and their leaders try to persuade…
By Mohammed Hussein: Recent meetings between Iraqi Prime Minister, Nuri Al- Maliki, and president of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, Massoud Barzani, have posed many questions about these leaders’ simultaneous hostility and friendship. What unites them, and what makes them stand against each other are topics that have been discussed in some Iraqi and international media. But…
