Aquinas wrote:I've a lot of sympathy for the Kurds, as they've had an appalling time of it.
Not without empathy for the case for a Kurdish state, but I've gotta say this is an incredibly difficult, dangerous and unstable part of the world, which makes it difficult not to feel cautious about the idea of redrawing national boundaries and creating new states.
Hrafn wrote:Aquinas wrote:I've a lot of sympathy for the Kurds, as they've had an appalling time of it.
Not without empathy for the case for a Kurdish state, but I've gotta say this is an incredibly difficult, dangerous and unstable part of the world, which makes it difficult not to feel cautious about the idea of redrawing national boundaries and creating new states.
I would say that the region is unstable precisely because of the lack of nation-states.
Maxington wrote:I don't mind the Kurds having the northern portion of Syria (which they are currently fighting to control), but i think that if they should have that northern portion they should promise to the Syrian Government that they forge extraordinary levels of cooperation between each other. I think Turkey should come to realize that the world is changing and that the Europeans are not the best at borders (look at Belgium and the Netherlands for a perfect example). I think for any progress to be made in the Middle East, regime change would have be done in the Peninsula states and Iran.
Hrafn wrote:I would say that the region is unstable precisely because of the lack of nation-states.
SelucianCrusader wrote:many of the states there are artificial constructs whose borders where drawn by the colonial powers with little regard for historical boundaries and their respective religious and ethnic make-up
SelucianCrusader wrote:I know a couple of Kurds IRL and I have a great degree of sympathy for the Kurdish cause. The developments in SDF-controlled Northern Syria shows of a lot of promise. A Kurdish state could be an oasis of democracy and secularism in that part of the world and a important partner for the west, an ally for Israel etc.
I agree that the instability in the Middle east partly comes from the fact that many of the states there are artificial constructs whose borders where drawn by the colonial powers with little regard for historical boundaries and their respective religious and ethnic make-up. Some proposals for redrawing the borders of the middle eastern states where made already back in 2005/6 and discussed during the Bush administration. It's quite interesting, although sadly I can't see how those could be implemented in any peaceful way...:
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