The front cover of this book carries a color photograph of a billboard that stands on the Iraqi side of the Turkey–Iraq border at the Ibrahim Khalil crossing. Set up by Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government, the billboard displays an innocent message in English, Arabic, Kurdish, and Turkish: “Welcome to Kurdistan.” It would be impossible, however, to display the same message on the Turkish side of the border, territory that the Kurds also consider part of Kurdistan. Identifying any part of Turkey as “Kurdistan” would, in fact, be treated as a crime against the state, a violation of the “territorial integrity” of the Turkish republic and the “indivisibility of the Turkish nation.” Neither would other states in the region, Iran and Syria, allow their border posts to display any indication of Kurdish presence let alone sovereignty.

Although the editors note that little has been written about the evolution of Kurdish nationalism, research attention to this topic, along with publisher interest, has grown in the aftermath of the U.S.-led wars of 1991 and 2003 against Iraq. Almost half of the fourteen contributors are newcomers to Kurdish studies (N. Watts, M. Bishku, G. Stansfield, L. Anderson, W. Beeman, and R. Lowe). Equally noteworthy is the emergence of a new generation of researchers of Middle Eastern backgrounds in an area where Western diplomats, missionaries, and academics historically have had a more visible presence (e.g., B. Nikitine, P. Rondot, C. J. Edmonds, Th. Bois). Six authors are of Middle Eastern, including Kurdish, backgrounds. In addition, in a discipline traditionally dominated by men, two are women. Still, this apparent diversity is undermined by a conspicuous uniformity in interpretative frameworks and theoretical and political perspectives.

Although there is reference to a variety of perspectives ranging from Anderson's “imagined communities” to “Ehteshami and Hinnebusch's postulates” (p. 188), the works' underlying assumptions involve dichotomizations of nationalism into civic/ethnic, political/cultural (e.g., Chapter 3), or primordial/modernist (e.g., Chapter 1) poles. This theoretical position constructs two types of nations, ethnic and civic, sets up a great divide between them, and gets trapped into this binary structure. Feminist theory, present in the study of Kurdish nationalism since the mid-1990s, is absent. Kurdish nationalism in this book is not gendered but male centered.

Limitations of theory aside, readers will find in this volume a collection of interesting studies covering all parts of Kurdistan, although with greater focus on Turkey and Iraq. It begins with a preface by R. Olson, series editor, and an introduction by the editors. The first chapter traces “The Modern Origins of Kurdish Nationalism” (M. Gunter), although it is not clear what constitutes modern(ist) politics and what distinguishes “modern” Kurdish nationalism from the politics of the shaykhs (leaders of Islamic ṭarīqāt), tribal chiefs, and feudal lords who led the nationalist movement for much of its history. In the absence of a theory of modernity, the term “modern” is often used in a chronological sense, that is to say, dating back to the 20th century.

The second chapter, “The Impact of Islam on Kurdish Identity Formation in the Middle East” (H. Özoglu), defines Islam as a political ideology that “demands the absolute loyalty of its followers” (p. 19). The author's “Islam” is universal, all powerful, and omnipresent, and it shaped “local” Kurdish identity for a millennium until Kurds developed conflictual relations in the 17th century. The result was a synthesis, which produced the present “form of modern Kurdish identity” (p. 35).

The third chapter, “Kurdish Nationalism under the Kemalist Republic: Some Hypotheses” (H. Bozarslan), examines transformations of Kurdish nationalism after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The author argues that during the eight decades of the Turkish republic, Kurdish nationalism has switched back and forth between political and cultural nationalisms and between violence and peace, depending on the political strategies of the Turkish state and the vicissitudes of the nationalist movement in the region.

The fourth chapter, “Silence and Voice: Turkish Politics and Kurdish Resistance in the mid-20th century” (Nicole Watts), focuses on the decade between the coups d'état of 1960 and 1971, a period of “fundamental political reconstruction in which a young generation of Kurdish counter-elites seized control of the movement from traditional leaders, defined Kurds in radical new ways, and engaged in new types of political activism” (pp. 53–54). This was a very significant development not only in Turkey but also in Iraq and Iran. However, the chapter's theoretical framework, elite theory and new social movements theory, does not allow for an adequate understanding of this trend, which may be, alternatively, seen as the separation of bourgeois (nationalist) politics from hegemonic feudal politics and the rise of leftist, often socialist, tendencies. Much of what is ambiguously called “modern(ist)” politics in the literature on the Kurds can be better grasped if interpreted in light of this still ongoing historical shift.

Chapter 5, “The Resurgence of Kurdish Nationalism in Northern Kurdistan: Turkey from the 1970s to the Present” (M. Bishku), examines the radicalization of the movement and the rise of the Kurdistan Workers Party at its head, the failure of armed struggle, the fragmentation of the party, and the still unsolved Kurdish question.

Chapter 6, “The Tortured Resurgence of Kurdish Nationalism in Iraq, 1975–1991” (G. Stanfield and Sh. Haji Rasool), is a survey of the tumultuous rise and fall of the nationalist movement, from the “height” of the 1970 autonomy deal to the 1988 Anfal genocide and the destruction of rural Kurdistan to internal fighting among nationalists.

Focusing on Iraqi Kurdistan, Chapter 7, “The Role of Political Parties in Developing Kurdish Nationalism” (L. Anderson), argues that the democratic centralist structure of Kurdish parties (focusing on the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan), although appropriate for activism under conditions of state repression and guerrilla war, has contributed to fragmentation and internal conflict and proved “disastrous for power sharing and governance” (p. 125).

Beginning where Chapter 6 left off, Chapter 8, “Laying the Foundations for a Kurdish State in Iraq, 1991–2006” (M. M. A. Ahmed), enumerates the successes and failures of the Kurdish leadership in laying the foundations for a Kurdish state in the context of the two U.S.-led wars against Iraq. In spite of many gains, the Kurds may still be losers unless they can “out-maneuver the American and Iraqi politicians” (p. 185).

Chapter 9 is one of few writings in the literature on Kurdish nationalism that looks at the economic component of the nationalist conflicts in the region. In “Kurdish Nationalism, Capitalism, and State Formation in Kurdistan–Iraq,” R. Olson argues that both the Kurds and Turkey prioritized “capital accumulation policies” over their nationalist aspirations.

Chapter 10, “The Kurdish Republic in Mahabad: Formation of a National Movement” (F. Koohi-Kamali), deals with the 1946 experiment in state building in Iranian Kurdistan. Chapter 11 (N. Entessar) examines the nationalist movement in Islamic Iran and concludes that the demand of the Kurdistan Democratic Party for autonomy within a federal regime is in conflict with Iran's “long-term stability,” which can be maintained only if the “motto” of reformist Islamic leaders, “Iran for all Iranians,” is implemented (p. 275). W. Beeman predicts that the Kurds of Iran will continue to struggle for autonomy but will maintain their “close cultural ties to Iranian civilization” (p. 279). The last chapter, “Kurdish Nationalism in Syria” (R. Lowe), points to the slow emergence of this nationalism and argues that it will grow, although it is not clear how far Syrian Kurds will press their demands.

The book will be of interest to a wide range of readers, especially students of nationalism and the modern history of the Middle East. Although versions of many chapters may be found in journals and other edited works, the book is a useful collection for the shelves of research libraries.