The Iraqi Kurdistan from rebellions to civil war 1918–1998

With the purpose of understanding the present-day of political dynamics of Iraqi Kurdistan it is essential to explore them historically. Therefore, this studyis illustrated the historical background of Iraqi Kurdish political landscape from 1918 to 1998, paying particular attention to why the Kurds of Iraq fought for the right to selfgovernmentautonomous state and failed to obtain the political objectives of their rebellions during this time. The periodic Kurdish revolutions in Iraq and their outcomes are presented in chronological order. Thisstudy is divided into some sections, namely, the British mandate occupation in 1918 and Sheikh Mahmud's uprisings; the Barzani's revolts and the Iraqi kingdom governments. The Kurds and the Iraqi Republic 1958–1968; the Kurds and the Ba'ath regime 1968–1996; the Gulf War and the Kurdish situation; the Kurdish uprising and the United Nations resolution to create safe haven for Kurds as well as Operation Provide Comfort alsothe international and regional policies towards the Kurds in post-Gulf War Iraq. This study also shows the root of internal conflict of the Iraqi Kurds and the reason behind of the Iraqi Kurdish civil War. It presents the role of the regional players in the Kurdish civil war also the regional and international mediation endeavours to end the Kurdish civil war. The reason for choosing this study is that it emergence as a starting point to delineate the Kurdish modern history is that Southern Kurdistan (now Kurdistan Region of Iraq) was occupied by the British army and attached to modern state of Iraq. The rationale behind picking outthis period is that it appears as the cut-off point for discussing the Iraqi Kurdish political history is the emergence of the Kurdish opposition party that has altered the Kurdish political dynamics in the region. Before delineating the Iraqi Kurdish. This study is presented a significantaccount of confidently not publicized details about these parties. Particular attention is given to relation between successive Iraqi governments’ reactions to the Kurds, Kurdish political groups’ challenges, the neigbhouring countries attitude with the Kurdish issue, Anfal campaigns, the Kurdish civil war as well as the regional and international reactions to the Kurdish civil war.