ABSTRACT
This chapter moves to discuss the manner in which the KRG’s interaction with the international community as a de facto state has affected its domestic policies and evolution. The hypothesis guiding this research is that the domestic and foreign policies of de facto states are interconnected. Since the de facto state’s pursuit of legitimacy revolves around its earned sovereignty, this interconnection is unavoidable. Chapter 2 of this book argues that identity and self-perception can shape the behaviour of actors. The evolution of the KRG, its character and domestic policies supports this assertion. Since 1991, and more forcefully since 2003, the KRG has experienced several important transitions. These transitions have correlated, to some extent, with the way in which the KRG has portrayed itself in its interaction with the international community. Different features of the KRG’s domestic structure have been shaped during this period: it has integrated into the global War on Terror, designing its own counterinsurgency campaign against Islamist guerrillas; it has formulated an independent natural resources policy; and it has also undergone some important socio-political reforms, experimenting in some limited liberalization and further democratization. This chapter examines the KRG’s decision-making processes in these issue-areas, demonstrating the causal link between the KRG’s pursuit of legitimacy and its decision-making processes.
