ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 critically analyses historical and external factors (e.g. Ottoman rule) that retard the transformation of Kurdish society from a traditional to a market economy society. It investigates the imperial social, political, and economic structure and (great) transformation by examining the central governance, judicial and socio-religious structure of the Empire. This account creates an opportunity for readers to understand the relations between centre and periphery (Ottoman Kurdistan). Besides, this chapter offers a foundational analysis of the next chapter. It draws mainly on economic anthropology and social economy perspective which provides insight into the reasons behind the failure of Kurdish society’s transformation and its underdevelopment during Ottoman economic projects incorporating institutionalisation and the self-regulating market economy under a modern imperial policy and colonial rule. Chapter 2 provides an analytical understanding of Kurdish society’s conventional institutions, political leadership, and its relation to the macro-economic structure from the Polanyian standpoint of embeddedness and double movement approach.
