BOOK: Loqman RADPEY, Towards an Independent Kurdistan: Self-Determination in International Law [Routledge Research in International Law] (London: Routledge, 2023), 324 p. ISBN 9781032543222

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 Abstract:

Kurdistan is among the world’s most notorious cases of self-determination denied, and the reasons why this outcome remains unachieved reveal as much about the biases of international law as they do about the merits of the case for Kurdistan. On the centenary of the Treaty of Lausanne, 24 July 1923, the last of the international instruments establishing the new international order after World War I, this book explores the potential blind spots of international law regarding its differential application in the Middle East. Tracing self-determination over the past century, the work explores how the law applies to Kurdish aspirations and to what extent the Kurds can rely upon the current law of self-determination to achieve internationally recognised statehood.

The book offers an exhaustive historico-legal analysis of changing international legal concepts and geopolitical upheaval, providing a blueprint for Kurdish self-determination in international law. Shedding light on the law’s structural biases, it represents a comprehensive historico-legal account of Kurdish aspirations for territorial independence within international law literature, offering a guide to relevant legal problems. It will be of interest to students and academics focused on international law, specifically, peoplehood, statehood, secession, human rights law, political science, and anthropology. Moreover, policymakers, government officials working in peace and conflict, research and advocacy institutes, think tanks, as well as scholars of international relations, historians, political scientists, regional specialists, diplomats, and non-governmental organisation activists will find it a useful reference. The book also illuminates the human rights status of the Kurds in their host states, making it relevant to scholars and activists. Its findings have implications extending beyond Kurdistan to self-determination struggles in Scotland, Catalonia, Ukraine, and elsewhere.

On the author:

Loqman Radpey, holding a PhD in International Law from the University of Edinburgh, is an independent researcher based in Scotland. Over the course of the past decade, his primary focus has been the thorough exploration and analysis of facets pertaining to the legal status of the Kurdistan question. His pursuits have delved into the nuanced application of international law concerning the right to self-determination of the Kurdish nation. 

Table of contents:

List of Maps ix Foreword xList of Abbreviations xiiAcknowledgements xviii1 Introduction 12 Self-Determination in International Law 132.1 Historical Metamorphosis 132.2 General Principle and Customary Law 312.3 As Erga Omnes and Jus Cogens 322.4 Modalities of Implementing Self-Determination 352.5 Self-Determination and Other Rights and Principles 372.6 The Expression of Self-Determination 382.7 Summary 423 What Is a ‘People’ in International Law? 453.1 Minorities 453.2 Nation 503.3 Peoples 513.4 Peoples as Self-Determination Units 693.5 Summary 764 Kurdistan: The Historical Background of Kurdish Self-Determination 794.1 Pre-Twentieth-Century Kurdistan 814.2 Twentieth-Century Kurdistan 844.3 Modern Nation-States’ Rejection of Sovereign Kurdistan 1124.4 Summary 1165 Are the Kurds a ‘People’? 1185.1 Substantive Criteria (National Ties) 1215.2 The Kurds in Legal Documents 1455.3 A Territorially Fragmented People 1495.4 Summary 1536 The Right to Internal Self-Determination 1556.1 Effective Participation in Public Affairs 1556.2 Internal Self-Determination and Effective Participation 1596.3 International Human Rights Law on Political Rights 1626.4 The Legal Basis of Effective Participation of Minorities in Public Affairs 1646.5 Constructs to Implement Internal Self-Determination 1696.6 Summary 1787 Secession: Implications for Kurdistan 1807.1 Secession in Legal Scholarship 1807.2 Secession under International Law 1847.3 The Threshold for Secession 1907.4 Non-Colonial Secession 1957.5 Failed Cases 2027.6 The Secession of Kurdistan 2067.7 Summary 2378 Kurdistan Statehood 2408.1 The State 2408.2 Tests of Statehood 2418.3 Self-Determination, Statehood, and Recognition 2438.4 Attributes of a State in International Law 2448.5 Statehood Models Achieved via Self-Determination 2568.6 Kurdistan’s Statehood 2658.7 Summary 2739 Conclusion: Decolonising Kurdish Self-Determination 276Appendix 285Index 289 

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