The Kurdish question in Iran: dynamics of a State sectarianism
Keywords:
PDK, Komala, PJAK, translocalidad, participación institucional, política informalAbstract
This paper addresses the Kurdish issue in Iran through power-resistance relations between some Kurdish leaders and the central Iranian government, from the Pahlavi monarchy to post-revolutionary Iran. The text defends that this relationship can be studied in the light of sectarianization politics by the Iranian State, both the secular and non-secular regimes, to defend official narratives in public sphere on one side, and territorial integrity, on the other. This work is carried out through the study of the local, regional and extra-regional facts which, when combined, have directly impacted on the decisions, emissions and emergencies of the three main Kurdish organizations in Iran: Democratic Party of the Kurdistan of Iran (PDK), Party of the Revolutionary Workers of the Iranian Kurdistan (Komala) and the Party for the Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK). Cross-border and transnational dynamics are found in this study when interactions between Iranian Kurds and state and no state actors are underlined. These facts help to understand not only Kurdish political-military resistance operations in these areas, but also formal and informal ways to maintain their political survival.
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References
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