WHY DID THE WORLD STOP SUPPORTING KURDISH INDEPENDENCE?
JULY 8 : Recently, Iraqi Kurdistan has expressed intent to hold a vote on the autonomous territory’s independence. However, the vast majority of the international community has went against Iraqi Kurdish statehood. For example, at the G20 summit, a journalist from the Kurdish News Agency asked German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her position on the matter, to which she replied in an affirming manner that she is in favour of the area remaining in Iraq, and that she has previously mentioned this position. And this may have many suddenly wondering, “Why has everyone went back on the Kurdish Struggle?”
- The Revolutionary wave/copycat effect.
The main fear of many nations with regards to Iraqi Kurdistan’s independence is a copycat effect of not only other Kurds in different countries but also other ethnic groups in the region. A perfect example I have found of this is with the Republic of Turkey. Turkey is strictly against the independence vote, claiming one if the main points of it’s “Iraq Policy” is to protect Iraq’s territorial integrity. This comes as a shock, as Turkey is one of Iraqi Kurdistan’s strongest allies, providing investment, trade and energy agreements, as well as coordination on political and military matters. The real reason why Turkey is against the referendum is because it fears that it would give further motivation to separatist insurgents in Kurdish majority areas of Turkey, as well as the YPG of Syrian Kurdistan, who are also on opposing ends with Turkey.
2. Too much for the world to handle
Since 2010 the Middle East has seen huge protests, in many cases culminating in multiple regime changes across the region, with more than one in Egypt and Libya, a civil war that has ravaged Syria, the rise of ISIS, the the possibility of a third intifada, two wars in Gaza and more recently, a diplomatic crisis centered around Qatar tearing the Middle East apart. It could be said that many nations believe more change will cause more chaos, and thus want the region to have a little break.
3. Picking allies
Both Turkey and Iraq (and by extension, Iran) have opposed the Iraqi Kurdish bid for independence. Thus, Western Powers too will have to go against the bid. The Pro-Iran (i,e Iraqi Army, Shia militias) and Pro-Turkey forces combined are more strategically important than the Kurds. Therefore, most of the international community will have to pick between one or the other, and because of importance, they will side with those against the bid. Due to this, the major world powers might veto Kurdistan’s independence.
In conclusion, their are a variety of factors for why the sovereignty movement in Iraqi Kurdistan, from pressure from other countries not to declare support, or a potential pathway for more incidents to occur in the fragile region. Despite it’s victoires against Saddam, ISIS and more, the Iraqi Kurdish movement for statehood has a long way to go.

