Conference Paper
From Zero-Min to Zero-Max: Enhancing Kurdish Rights and Reducing Regional Development Gaps Through Multistate Coordination
No.
ERF32AC_53
Publisher
ERF
Date
May, 2026
Topic
P. Economic Systems
Kurds are an important and viable ethnic group with historic roots and presence in four Middle Eastern countries: Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. The relations between the central governments of these countries and the Kurds have often been contentious and occasionally violent. In this article, I call for implementing two policy moves by these four countries regarding their respective Kurdish minorities. First, while remaining fully committed to the prevention of separatism, they should enhance the cultural and political rights of the Kurds and reduce the development gap of the predominantly Kurdish regions relative to the national average. Currently, this gap is visible in all countries other than Iraq. Second, the initiative to enhance the group rights of the Kurds and improve their economic conditions can be better realized if these countries coordinate their policy reforms in the framework of a regional agreement. The study analyzes the benefit of this coordination in the context of the two-player game model.
Research Fellows
Nader Habibi
Henry J. Leir Professor of Practice in...