This book focuses on the European Union as an actor involved in the transnational Kurdish issue covering Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. It demonstrates that, instead of being simply a humanitarian actor in the issue, the EU has considered its bilateral interests with the four states in question as well as its extent of acceptance in approaching the Kurdish issue. It has combined its traditional humanitarian/normative consideration with its geopolitical interests in relation to strategies related to the four states. This book provides a unique perspective on the EU as an actor in the Kurdish issue and from a wider perspective, it provides interesting insights into the EU's interactions with geopolitics, which has become the topic of a lively scholarly debate in recent years. The book is a resource for researchers and students studying the European Union as a global actor, and for governmental or non-governmental professionals dealing directly with, or having interest in, the EUand/or Kurdish affairs.

Provides unique and comprehensive insights into the relations of two relatively new and dynamic IR actors Succeeds in drawing the geopolitical complexity of the Kurdish issue and the risks involved for external actors Analyses the European Union's role in the greater Kurdish issue across four countries

Autorentext

Z**ana A. Kurda** is Director of European Union Affairs at the Kurdistan Regional Government's Mission to the European Union in Brussels. He has held this position since 2012. He has a BSc in Commercial Economics (Saxion University in the Netherlands in 2006), an MSc in European Studies (University of Twente - the Netherlands in 2008), and a PhD in Political Science (Free University of Brussels in 2021).

Inhalt

• 1. Introduction. - 2. Studying the European Union's Actorness in the Kurdish Issue: An Analytical Model. - 3. The Kurdish Issue: A Transnational Political Conflict. - 4. The European Union and the Kurds in Turkey. - 5. The European Union and the Kurds in Iraq. - 6. The European Union and the Kurds in Syria. - 7. The European Union and the Kurds in Iran. - 8. Conclusions.