THE 1920 TREATY OF SÉVRES AND THE STRUGGLE FOR KURDISH HOMELAND IN IRAQ AND TURKEY BETWEEN WORLD WARS
WHITNEY DYLAN DURHAM
Bachelor of Science in Geoscience
The University of Tennessee
Martin, Tennessee
2000
Master of Science in Geosciences
Murray State University
Murray, Kentucky
2003
Submitted to the Faculty of the
Graduate College of the
Oklahoma State University
in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for
the Degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
July, 2010
[1]
This book is an examination of the rise and fracturing of Kurdish nationalism and territoriality in the context of the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres and the division of the defeated Ottoman Empire, and of the ensuing British and Turkish policies toward the Kurds. The regions of interest in this research are southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq, the former lands of the Ottoman Empire set aside by the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres for the creation of an independent Kurdistan. The main theoretical aspects of this study pertain to the rise of, and difficulties within, Kurdish nationalism, and to the territorial ambitions of the Kurds and regional governments upon Kurdish dominated lands. This work examines primary source documents and academic works to gain a better understanding of the policies of the governments involved, as well as attempts by the Kurds to acquire an independent state. In addition to archival and library research, concepts from political geography and comparative politics are employed to provide insight into issues such as territoriality and nationalism.