This study is essentially a critique of how the three dominant paradigms of explanatory international relations theory - (neo-)realism, liberalism, and systemic constructivism - conceive of, analytically deal with, and explain ethnic conflict and sovereignty. By deconstructing their approaches to ethnic identity formation in general and ethnic conflict in particular it argues that all three paradigms, in their epistemologies, ontologies and methodologies through reification and by analytically equating ethnic groups with states, tend to essentialise and substantialise the ethnic lines of division and strategic essentialisms of ethnic and ethno-nationalist elites they set out to describe, and, all too often, even write them into existence. Particular attention, both at the theoretical and empirical level, will be given to the three explanatory frameworks explanatory IR has contributed to the study of ethnic conflict: the 'ethnic security dilemma', the 'ethnic alliance model', and, drawing on other disciplines, instrumentalist approaches. The deconstruction of these three frameworks will form the bulk of the theoretical section, and will subsequently be shown in the case study to be ontologically untenable or at least to fail to adequately explain the complex dynamics of ethnic identity formation in ethnic conflict. By making these essentialist presumptions, motives, and practices explicit this study makes a unique contribution not only to the immediate issues it addresses but also to the wider debate on the nature of IR as a discipline. As a final point, drawing on constitutive theory and by conceiving of the behaviour and motives of protagonists of ethnic conflict as expressions of a fluid, open-ended, and situational matrix of identities and interests without sequential hierarchies of dependent and independent variables, the study attempts to offer an alternative, constitutive reading of ethnic and nationalist identity to the discourses of explanatory IR. These themes that are further developed in the empirical section where, explanatory IRA's narratives of ethnic group solidarity, ethno-nationalism, and national self-determination are examined and deconstructed by way of the case study of the relations between the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Iraqi Kurdish ethno-nationalist parties in the wider context of the political status of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. With this ambition this study makes an original empirical contribution by scrutinising these relations in a depth unique to the literature.

Le Šarafnāma est un ouvrage écrit en persan par Šaraf Xān Bidlīsī (949-1009/1543-1600), gouverneur kurde de la principauté de Bidlīs, en 1005/1596-1597 environ. Il s’agit d’une chronique des dynasties et tribus kurdes, commençant avec la dynastie des Marwānides, à la fin du IVe/Xe siècle, pour se terminer avec les événements de l’année 1005/1596-1597 et le récit de l’histoire des Diyādīnides de Bidlīs, lignée dont était issu l’auteur. La chronique est composée d’une introduction (muqaddima) et de quatre ṣaḥīfas (livres). À cette chronique, l’auteur a également ajouté un épilogue (xātima) constitué par des annales ottomanes et safavides. Il existe, à ce jour, une quarantaine de manuscrits du Šarafnāma encore existants. Notre première tâche a été d’identifier ces manuscrits et de les consulter, sous forme physique ou numérique, afin de les comparer et de produire un stemma codicum des copies de l’ouvrage. Une fois ceci fait, notre recherche a plus particulièrement porté sur les manuscrits produits du vivant de l’auteur, dans les années 1005-1007/1596-1599, ainsi que sur les copies effectuées au XIe/XVIIe siècle, soit le siècle suivant la composition de l’ouvrage. Après une première partie consistant en une étude générale sur le travail historiographique de Šaraf Xān, nous avons, dans une deuxième partie, étudié spécifiquement les trois manuscrits transcrits de sa main ou sous sa supervision, afin de mettre en lumière le caractère réfléchi et collaboratif du processus de composition de l’ouvrage. Dans la troisième partie, nous nous sommes intéressés à la dizaine de manuscrits produits au XIe/XVIIe siècle à Bidlīs, Kilīs, Alep et dans la région d’Ardalān, et aux processus de réappropriation et de réinterpréation de l’oeuvre originale visible dans ces copies. / The Šarafnāma is a book written in Persian by Šaraf Xān Bidlīsī (949-1009/1543-1600), Kurdish governor of the principality of Bidlīs, in about 1005/1596-1597. It is a chronicle of Kurdish dynasties and tribes, starting with the Marwānid dynasty, at the end of the 4th/10th century, and concluding with the events of the year 1005/1596-1597 and the story of the Diyādīnids of Bidlīs, the author’s own household. The chronicle is composed of an introduction (muqaddima) and four ṣaḥīfas (books). The author has also added an epilogue (xātima), which is an annalistic history of the Ottomans and the Safavids. There are around forty extant manuscripts of the Šarafnāma. Our first task has been to identify and physically or digitally consult these manuscripts, in order to compare them and produce a stemma codicum of the book’s copies. Once this was done, we have focused our research on the manuscripts copied during the author’s lifetime, in the years 1005-1007/1596-1599, as well as on the copies made in the 11th/17th century, immediately following the book’s composition. The first part of our work is a general study of Šaraf Xān’s historiographical outlook. In the second part, we have studied the three manuscripts transcribed by the author or under his supervision, in order to highlight the thought out and collaborative nature of the book’s composition. In the third part, we have focused on the dozen manuscripts produced in the 11th/17th century in Bidlīs, Kilīs, Aleppo and the Ardalān region, and on the processes of reappropriation and reinterpration of the original work manifest in these copies.

This study conducts an analysis of the Classical Liberal doctrines, namely Natural Rights, Utilitarianism, and Social Darwinism, in the context of historical events contributing to the successful establishment of autonomous governance by the Kurdish population in Iraq. The research methodology employed is qualitative case study, with the case subject being the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq. The study draws upon secondary sources encompassing scholarly books and articles, to gather pertinent information. Throughout the course of history, the Kurdish people have ardently aspired to create their own homeland, Kurdistan. Despite their determination and historical occurrences, the four constituent parts constituting Kurdistan have not been able to coalesce into a unified entity. Nevertheless, the Kurdistan region in Iraq has made remarkable progress and presently governs itself autonomously within the Iraqi state. This progress can be attributed to a myriad of historical events, ranging from major turning points to subtle influences. In the comtext of this study, all three aforementioned Liberal doctrines hold relevance, although to varying degrees. Utilitarianism and Natural Rights emerge as the primary influential doctrines, while Social Darwinism, though present, exerts a lesser impact on the studied developments.