ABSTRACT
The previous chapter argued that de facto statehood is a stage on the continuum of a liberation struggle, somewhere between the beginning of the struggle and the final stage of full statehood. The ensuing argument is that this process of transformation along the continuum of liberation is crucial for understanding the development and behaviour of de facto states, both internationally and domestically. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully understand this process of transformation itself, and the early stages leading to the creation of a de facto state. This chapter does that, paying careful attention to the strategies of legitimation employed by the Kurdish liberation movement in its early stages. It highlights the importance of the moral legitimacy discourse and the initial transition into that of earned sovereignty.
