Introduction Conceptualizing De Facto Statehood of Kurdistan-Iraq and Palestine
Gülistan Gürbey/Sabine Hofmann/Ferhad Ibrahim Seyder
Part I Historical Background and Turning Points
1. The Iraqi Kurds: Historical backgrounds of a non-state nation
Ferhad Ibrahim Seyder
2. Historical Background of the State-Building Process in Palestine
As’ad Ghanem
Part II Political System and Internal Power Structure
3. The Evolution of the Political System of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Gareth Stansfield
4. The (Quasi) Political System of Palestine
Ghada AlMadbouh
Part III Economic Fundamentals and Challenges
5. The Economic System(s) of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq
Sardar Aziz
6. What is the “Palestinian Economy”?
Raja Khalidi
Part IV Civil Society and “State”
7. The Reality of Civil Society in Kurdistan Region
Murad Hakeem
8. Civil Society in Palestine
Samir Awad
Part V Foreign Relations: Examples
9. The United States and the Kurds of Iraq: Strange Allies
David Romano/Hussein Rikar Kh. Hussein/Stephen Rowe
10. Palestinian Diplomacy: Past and Present
Mkhaimar Abusada
Conclusions
Gülistan Gürbey/Sabine Hofmann/Ferhad Ibrahim Seyder
11. Understanding Kurdistan-Iraq and Palestine: Comparative Features, Similarities and Differences
12. Reflections of Statehood in the Middle East
Chronology
Kurdistan-Iraq
Müzehher Selcuk
Palestine
Silvia Nicola
Fact Sheets
Kurdistan
Palestine
List of Contributors
Gülistan Gürbey is Adjunct Professor of Political Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
Sabine Hofmann is Researcher and Lecturer at the Center for North Africa and Middle Eastern Politics, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, and the Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Marburg, Germany.
Ferhad Ibrahim Seyder is Professor of Political Science at the Center for Kurdish Studies, University of Erfurt, Germany.
This edited volume compares the internal dimension, politics and society in Kurdistan-Iraq and Palestine. In particular, it focuses on internal processes in Kurdistan-Iraq and Palestine (Palestinian Territory of the West Bank and Gaza Strip) in their specific shaping, development and transformation. The contributing authors analyze the transformation processes of the internal power structures, the economic basics, and the civil societies and provide an overview of the current political, economic and societal situation and challenges in both regions. The book presents the similarities and differences between both de facto states with regard to a set of guidelines: legitimacy, power relations, transformation of politics and society. It provides empirical explanations and contributes to a better understanding of both de facto states.