April 2025 , Pages 769-789
پ.ی.د.ئاریان رەئوف عەزیز 1 ; Asst.Prof. Skala Hussein Hama Amin 2 ; Dr. Rebwar Ruof Hama Saleh 3
1 زانکۆی گەرمیان -بەشی یاسا
2 Garmian Polytechnic University – Kalar Technical Institute
3 Halabja University - Politics and International Relations
In the aftermath of the Second Gulf War, international support created an opportunity for the Kurds in Iraq to establish self-governance in Iraqi Kurdistan within a defined geography. This led to the declaration of the Kurdistan Regional Parliament and Government in 1992, establishing themselves as a de facto entity within the framework of Iraqi sovereignty. Following the fall of the Ba'ath regime in 2003, a fundamental change occurred in Iraq's political system and form of governance, which presented a significant historical opportunity for the Kurds. It paved the way for constitutional recognition of the Kurdistan Regional Parliament and Government under the 2005 Constitution. However, despite these structural changes, the Kurds continue to be in a struggle with the federal government to implement the rights stipulated in the 2005 Constitution.
On another front, following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria in late 2024, while the prevailing narrative suggests the liberation of the Syrian peoples from an authoritarian power, indications do not suggest that the current authorities in Syria are more committed to the rights of ethnic, religious, and sectarian minorities than the Assad regime was. Consequently, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), also known as Rojava, is facing a difficult confrontation with some of the forces currently governing Syria from Damascus.
This study highlights the concept of "Imposed Identity," which represents the attempts by the oppressive Ba'ath party authorities in both Iraq and Syria to assimilate the Kurdish identity into the crucible of Arab nationalism. In response, the Kurds were in a constant state of defense against this assimilationist policy throughout the Ba'ath regimes' rule. Accordingly, the core of this study focuses on the "Sculpted Identity," which is presented as a novel interpretation of how the federal government in Iraq, specifically Shi'a groups and parties, engages with the Kurdistan Region within the framework of an identity they themselves have sculpted, through which the Kurds are expected to be treated. This identity is considered an extension of the "Imposed Identity," but it is practiced through different mechanisms. In the same vein, and within the framework of the "Sculpted Identity," a similar approach can be observed in the treatment of the Kurdish identity in Rojava by the new administration and armed groups in Syria post-2024.