Nation-Building in Kurdistan

Abstract

We define nation-building as a process which leads to the formation of countries in which the citizens feel a sufficient amount of commonality of interests, goals and preferences so that they do not wish to separate from each other. It can also be said that nation-building is a process in which the government, the state or a group of elites act with the aim of creating national unity and reducing divisions in society. In this regard, groups and ethnicities come together to form a national identity. Nation and nation-building are two modern phenomena and the elements of the nation-building process, which are patriotic unity, citizenship, collective identity, equal opportunities for all citizens and a common language, are the foundations of the formation of a modern state. In this research and theoretically, the concept of nation-building and its constituent elements and the importance of this process for the Kurdistan region are discussed. The main question in this research is the question of the national existence of the Kurd. Is there a nation in the Kurdistan region? If so, how? If not, why not? Should nation-building or state-building be a priority for the Kurds in the Kurdistan region?