ABSTRACT
The 'Middle-East' was largely defined in the immediate post-Great War period by 'spheres of influence' which were later translated into states and which took little or no account of pre-existing identities, polities, animosities or grievances. Yemen's long history of tribal and political division dates back to the pre-Ottoman period, of local tribal rivalries and, for relatively short periods, the extent of Ottoman occupation. Diyarbakir is the largest city in the Kurdish area of Turkey and the Turks, predominantly to the west, have shown little forgiveness for aspirations for greater self-governance, much less independence, by the Kurds. Kurdish nationalism arose precisely in response to exclusionary Turkish nationalism, exacerbated by oppression, demographic land clearances and economic marginalization. The claims of the Kurds were backed, particularly in Turkey, Syria and Iraq, with military capacity. In 2017, the residents of the Kurdish region of Iraq known as Basur, under the Kurdistan Regional Government, held a referendum on whether the region should become independent.
