Analysis of the Problem of the Conflict between the Iranian Authorities and the Kurds: Based on the Concept of «Protracted Social Conflict» by E. Azar

Abstract

Tense conflicts between the Iranian authorities and the Kurds have continued over the past century. The relations of the Iranian Kurds with the local authorities developed differently under each regime. The studies covering Kurdish issues in Iran are comparatively smaller in volume than the studies of the Kurds of Turkey, Iran, and Syria. The reason is that the state policy in Iran is aimed at restricting the access of individual scientists to the sources necessary for conducting research. Considering that the problem of Kurds in Iran is still being conducted only within the framework of issues of national movement and identity, it can be stated that there are no attempts to clarify the conflict relations with representatives of local Kurds and Tehran from the point of view of a certain conceptual concept.

This research paper examines the conflict between the Iranian authorities and the Kurds from the point of view of concluding a long-term social conflict by E. Azar. The elements of the social structure of groups, the lack of basic human needs, governance and the state, and international relations were taken as the analysis criteria.

According to the results of the study, firstly, it was possible to show that the Kurds in Iran are a national group that has not lost its identity for centuries, is able to resist assimilation and has a high level of mobilization. Secondly, the Iranian government adhered to the policy of imposing restrictions on ensuring the economic, political, social, and cultural needs of the Kurds. Thirdly, the Iranian government has historically adhered to an assimilative and repressive policy towards the Kurds at every stage. This is especially noticeable within the framework of the Islamic Republic. This is due to the fact that the national integration ideology of Iran was not based on a federal form in which individual nations coexist, but rather on a universal idea that goes beyond ethnicity as a "Muslim Ummah". Fourth, it became known that the Iranian Kurds have always been closely connected with the Kurdish diaspora abroad. This means that they can always raise their concerns internationally and get support. Consequently, Azar's conclusion boils down to explaining the reasons for the long-term existence of the conflict between the Iranian authorities and the Kurds.

Key words: national policy of Iran, Kurdish movement, long-term social conflict, assimilation, national policy