Table of Contents

Introduction Chapter 1: The Kurdish Political Parties in Syria Chapter 2: The Birth of a Syrian Kurdish Polity, 1920-1957 Chapter 3: The Kurdish Political Parties, 1957-2010 Chapter 4: Relations between the Parties and the State Chapter 5: The Role of Kurdish Parties in Kurdish Society Chapter 6: The Stateless Kurds of Syria Chapter 7: Crisis and Consciousness Conclusion

Promotional Information

Explores the fundamental issues of minority identity and the concept of being 'stateless' in a turbulent region, as well as the organisation of political parties in Syria making it suitable for all those researching the politics of the modern Middle East.

About the Author

Harriet Allsopp holds a PhD in Politics from Birkbeck College, University of London. She is an expert on the Kurds in Syria and contributes analysis to private consultancies and governmental departments.

Reviews

Harriet Allsopp brings her close knowledge and meticulous research on Kurdish politics in Syria to bear on the unfolding current situation of momentous transformations in the Kurdish region and the wider Middle East. Sami Zubaida, Emeritus Professor of Politics and Sociology at Birkbeck, University of London, and Beyond Islam: A New Understanding of the Middle East (I.B.Tauris, 2011) Harriet Allsopp presents a lucid, engaging and detailed description and analysis of a people and region that remains terra incognita for observers of Middle East politics, yet has become one of the most transformative forces in the cauldron of civil war Syria. The Kurds of Syria, often referred to as 'the unknown Kurds' are very much 'known' in Allsopp's book in which she charts the emergence, development and now consolidation of Kurdish identity and political structures in Syria. As the Kurds of Syria move towards establishing autonomous structures in Kurdish-dominant regions, and seek to enage with regional powers as they further their ambitions. Allsopp's book stands out as a resource of unparalleled importance for those wanting to understand where the Kurds came from, and where, perhaps, they may be going. Gareth Stansfield, Professor of Middle East Politics and Director of the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter.