The Future of the Iraqi Kurds

The future of Iraq as a nation state is in question as never before. If its three main communities cannot find an effective formula for political cohabitation then the country may face partition (whether formal or otherwise) with unpredictable consequences for the wider region. Indeed, with ISIL () terrorists occupying the west and centre of the country, it may be more accurate to say that Iraq is already broken, and that the question now is whether it can yet be stitched back into a functioning whole. The clock is ticking. Key to Iraqs future will be the policies and actions of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The Kurdistan Region is the best governedand least dysfunctionalpart of Iraq, with a developing democratic culture and relatively stable economy. It is professionally and effectively defended by its national guard, the Peshmerga, and is a haven of tolerance in a wider region where extremism and instability are on the rise. It has responded with great generosity to the sudden influx of hundreds of thousands of displaced Iraqis and Syrians, of different ethnicities and religions, seeking sanctuary there. There can be no solution to Iraqs current troubles unless the governments in Baghdad and in Erbil (the Regions capital) work together to overcome mutual suspicion and acrimony. The qualities make the Kurdistan Region vital for Iraqs future. Kurds have been living in northern Iraq since ancient times, as they have been in the neighbouring, mainly mountainous parts of Iran, Syria and Turkey that together comprise Kurdistan, () a territory with no formal boundaries or official status, sometimes described as the largest stateless nation in the world. Kurds might thus be described as one of the indigenous peoples of Iraq. ()