The Iranian Kurdish Movement at Home and in Exile: From Decline to Revival

Abstract

Kurdish politics and the Kurdish national movement in Iran provide a unique case study with many unexplored elements. A defining aspect of Kurdish identity politics in Iran in recent decades is the multiplication of the number of actors within this movement, which have established varying counter-hegemonic discourses and practices, challenging Iran’s Islamic regime from different angles. Tehran has observed the growing Kurdish national sentiment with anxiety, and has implemented a wide range of excessive securitisation and militarisation measures in the Kurdish-inhabited region to mollify this development. This paper reflects on various aspects of the Kurdish-state conflict in Iran, with a focus on the current (twenty-first century) elements of this conflict.