The Geopolitical and Security Encounters of The Iraqi Kurdistan Statehood
Kurdistan Region of Iraq KRI currently has almost 25 international consultants and embassies most of them located in Erbil the capital city of the region. In addition, the Kurdistan Region Government strived for further understanding and mutual relationships with other countries. Thus, the department of Kurdistan region foreign affairs attempts to tie relations and take care of Kurdish citizens around as well as the diplomatic missions who are willing to visit the region. Moreover, stability and security lead to having international organizations encounter standards to achieve further solidity and support in different manners. Therefore, the challenges that face the Kurdistan region from its geopolitical standpoint to the security are undaughterly remains questionable and an interesting topic to research on. However, the statehood of the Kurdistan region allocated further anticipation on the international level especially during the war on terror against the Islamic State of Iraqi and Syria ISIS. On the other hand, on the 27th of September 2017, the referendum took place more than 92.5% voted for yes, later on, did not get international recognition.
Keywords: Geopolitics, Security, Iraqi Kurdistan Region, Statehood
Introduction
The Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region of Iraq is a semi-autonomy, self-sufficiencies, and self-government region. The statehood characteristics of Iraqi Kurdistan developed progressively, from genocide and the act of violence by the former Iraqi regime to the opening economically to the world. While Kurdistan region became the headline of the media due to the referendum and fighting against Islamic State. Thus, the region has seen many challenges however the geopolitical and security of the Kurdistan region remains the most difficult tasks to deal with. Moreover, when it comes to the geographic location of the Kurdistan region is landlocked has no access to seawater. Surrounded by the two most
powerful regional powers the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Turkey, and inside margins of Iraq. Despite the fact, Iraqi Kurdistan faced many challenges from fighting against Islamic State to cutting the budget from the Iraqi central government, we claim that the Kurdistan region remains provocative to outside circumstances that Kurdish people and leaders unwilling to the difficulties. Probably the central agenda of the Kurdistan region focused on oil production and tourism.
Security
A security perspective from most International relations IR scholars argue that security and politics define matters and values. Every day we hear from the media civilians are killed, kidnapped, demolished, etc. therefore, security is not always peaceful terminology in practice, but why? Security determines who gets what, when, and how. While security could be defriending from one to another standpoint of view for instance on the state level to some security is the matter of securing borders, interests, surviving while for other states security is about the matter of education and health care. As such, security may refer to providing its people safety and harmony by strengthening the hard power of the military or the soft power of the education and health system.
Geopolitics
Geopolitics of the Kurdistan region of Iraq is located in the core of the Middle East within different nationalities as such Arabs, Turks, Persian, etc. However, the geographic location is landlocked in the other words Kurdistan region does not have access to seawater or oceans. For the same reason, Kurdish officials had no choice to export natural resources and oil on the other hand the outcome was a Turkish-Iraqi Kurdistan long-term deal to export oil. But is it matter the geographic location from landlocked to open access? Well, yes for the Kurdistan region case especially the oil-exporting. Thus, leads to further tension with the Iraqi center government later on primes to cutting the Kurdish share of the budget.
Assistant. Lecturer. Mohammed Rzgar Ganjo
Collage of Law and International Relations-Department of International Relations and Diplomacy/ Bayan University