Kurds
Camp Islamic State
The al-Hawl and Roj camps in northeastern Syria house the remnants of the Islamic State group, including many foreign nationals, women and children. Amid uncertainty over U.S. funding for the camps and political change within Syria, fears are growing of some form of resurgence from among the radicalized detainees.
Hope and Hazard
A journey from Damascus into eastern Syria — along a busy smuggling route — shows that the desire for a united country remains strong, despite the efforts of factions and external actors to sow discord and fuel sectarian fears.
Iraq Offers Lessons and Warnings for a New Syria
The sudden collapse of the Assad regime marks a momentous opportunity for Syrians to build an inclusive, stable democracy — but it also poses immense challenges, from rebuilding a war-torn society to preventing the rise of a new autocrat. Postwar Iraq offers lessons and cautionary tales for the nascent state.
On the Kurdish Front Lines, It’s an Endless Struggle
The Islamic State may have been defeated in the field, but they have not been defeated in Iraq. What actually happened was that their fighters retreated from Mosul and Hawija, before slowly melting back into the Sunni Arab villages — and storing their weapons in the nearby caves — and prepared for war once again. What lies across from me are the most fanatical and hardcore: Those who have hung on, who refuse to surrender or flee. And they will stay there until they win or die.
Why Are Iraqi Kurds Fleeing to Europe?
Just as in the rest of Iraq and the wider region, the Kurdish model has failed to resolve deep social, political and economic issues by mere nationalistic thinking and slogans. The ongoing mass Kurdish exodus to Europe through Belarus is a clear example of this failure.
The Budding Kurdish-Iranian Alliance in Northern Iraq
In the dusty farms and villages of Sinjar, the interests of Iran and Turkey collide. Here in northern Iraq, Tehran is allying with non-state actors in order to further its own interests — this time with the controversial PKK group, which will bring it into conflict with Ankara.
The New Kurdish Right
Within Kurdish politics in Turkey, there is an emerging style of right-wing discourse. No longer content to be a silent partner of the governing Turkish right-wing coalition, the new Kurdish right defines itself in opposition to both the Turkish state and the PKK’s left-liberation mythos.