ABSTRACT
Introduction In the previous chapter, the book set out some of the current emphases in the literature on Kurdish nationalism, and a theoretical framework through the prism of social movement theories that will help to explain the activities of the PKK and subsequently the KCK. This chapter will critically present the historical background of the Kurdish national struggle in Kurdistan. It will show especially the reasons for and aspects of the failure of the Kurdish struggle throughout the twentieth century in all parts of Kurdistan. The emphasis will mainly be on the northern part of Kurdistan and particularly the notion of Kurdish nationalism under the hegemony of and as a reaction against Turkish nationalism in Turkey.
