Independence movements

History of Kurdish self-determination projects

Kurdish political projects since the end of the Ottoman Empire: Sèvres and Lausanne, early declarations, and the diverging paths of Kurdish movements in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria.

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Scope and names

The Kurds live in a mountainous region across the borders of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Armenia, and have never had a permanent nation state.[1] In the early twentieth century many began to consider a homeland generally called “Kurdistan” — in Sorani, کوردستان, the form used in official names in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region.[2][3]

After the Ottoman Empire

One analysis holds that the desire for an independent or autonomous Kurdish state in the modern sense emerged only after the Ottoman collapse.[4] The 1920 Treaty of Sèvres provided for local autonomy for predominantly Kurdish areas and set conditions under which they could become independent from Turkey.[5][6]

The treaty never took effect. The 1923 Treaty of Lausanne made no provision for a Kurdish state, and analysts still debate whether Sèvres was a real promise of independence.[7][8]

Early declarations: 1922 and 1946

In 1922 Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji declared a “Kingdom of Kurdistan” around Sulaimaniyah, in British-administered Iraq; it was unrecognised and ended by British intervention.[9]

On 22 January 1946 Qazi Muhammad announced the Kurdish Republic of Mahabad in Soviet-controlled north-western Iran, with Mustafa Barzani of Iraq leading its armed force. After the Soviet withdrawal Iran reasserted control; Qazi Muhammad was executed in 1947 and Barzani went into exile in the Soviet Union.[10][11]

· Declaration

Kurdish Republic of Mahabad, 1946

A Kurdish republic proclaimed in Soviet-occupied north-western Iran collapsed within a year after Soviet withdrawal.

Diverging paths in four states

Kurdish politics then developed separately in each state. In Iraq, movements led by Mustafa Barzani and later the KDP and PUK sought autonomy, won self-government in 1992 and held an independence referendum in 2017; this history is told in the branch associated with Iraq.[12][13][14]

In Turkey, according to the BBC, Kurds faced resettlement and restrictions on their language after uprisings in the 1920s and 1930s; the PKK, founded in 1978, first called for independence and in the 1990s shifted to demands for autonomy.[15][16] In Syria, Kurdish parties led by the PYD declared autonomous administrations in 2014 and a federal system in 2016, and said in 2019 that they were not seeking independence.[17]

How the question is interpreted

ICDS argues that internal rivalry among Kurdish groups and dependence on outside support have repeatedly blocked Kurdish statehood.[18] The evidence gathered here shows goals varying by actor and period — independence in 1922 and 2017, autonomy for the PKK after the 1990s and for the PYD in 2019 — rather than a single Kurdish programme.[9][14][16][17]

Sources for this page

Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.

  1. 1.

    Claim: The BBC described the Kurds in 2019 as numbering between 25 and 35 million, living in a mountainous region straddling the borders of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Armenia, and as never having obtained a permanent nation state. Attributed to BBC News (2019)

    • BBC News, Who are the Kurds? (BBC, First published 21 October 2014; updated 15 October 2019) link, opening paragraphs. Source record
  2. 2.

    Claim: In the early 20th century many Kurds began to consider the creation of a homeland, generally referred to as “Kurdistan”. Attributed to BBC News (2019)

    • BBC News, Who are the Kurds? (BBC, First published 21 October 2014; updated 15 October 2019) link, section on why Kurds have no state. Source record
  3. 3.

    Claim: The Kurdistan Parliament in Erbil uses the Sorani forms “پەرلەمانی کوردستان” (Kurdistan Parliament) and “هەرێمی کوردستان” (Kurdistan Region) in its official site title and address.

    • Kurdistan Parliament – Iraq, پەرلەمانی کوردستان (Kurdistan Parliament, Sorani home page) (Kurdistan Parliament) link, site title and address line. Government perspective or primary official source Source record
  4. 4.

    Claim: The International Centre for Defence and Security argues that, despite many earlier uprisings, the desire for an independent or autonomous Kurdish state in the modern sense emerged only after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Attributed to International Centre for Defence and Security (2017)

    • International Centre for Defence and Security, A Hundred Years of Attempts to Create an Independent Kurdistan (International Centre for Defence and Security (Tallinn), 19 December 2017) link, introduction. Source record
  5. 5.

    Claim: The Treaty of Sèvres, signed on 10 August 1920, provided for a commission to draft a scheme of local autonomy for the predominantly Kurdish areas east of the Euphrates and north of Turkey’s frontiers with Syria and Mesopotamia.

    • Principal Allied Powers and Turkey, Treaty of Peace with Turkey, signed at Sèvres, August 10, 1920 (His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1920) link, art. 62, p. 21. Government perspective or primary official source Source record
  6. 6.

    Claim: Article 64 provided that if, within a year, the Kurdish peoples of those areas showed the League of Nations Council that a majority desired independence from Turkey, and the Council recommended it, Turkey would renounce its rights over the areas; the Allies would not object to Kurds of the Mosul Vilayet joining such a state.

    • Principal Allied Powers and Turkey, Treaty of Peace with Turkey, signed at Sèvres, August 10, 1920 (His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1920) link, art. 64, p. 21. Government perspective or primary official source Source record
  7. 7.

    Claim: The Treaty of Sèvres never took effect; it was replaced in 1923 by the Treaty of Lausanne, which made no provision for a Kurdish state.

    • International Centre for Defence and Security, A Hundred Years of Attempts to Create an Independent Kurdistan (International Centre for Defence and Security (Tallinn), 19 December 2017) link, section on the Treaty of Sèvres. Source record
    • BBC News, Who are the Kurds? (BBC, First published 21 October 2014; updated 15 October 2019) link, section on why Kurds have no state. Source record
  8. 8.

    Claim: ICDS notes that the conditions attached to independence in the Treaty of Sèvres were vague, and that whether it amounted to a promise of Kurdish independence can be debated, though many Kurds regard it as a betrayed promise. Attributed to International Centre for Defence and Security (2017)

    • International Centre for Defence and Security, A Hundred Years of Attempts to Create an Independent Kurdistan (International Centre for Defence and Security (Tallinn), 19 December 2017) link, section on the Treaty of Sèvres. Source record
  9. 9.

    Claim: In 1922 in and around Sulaimaniyah, Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji, who had been working with the British administration, declared a “Kingdom of Kurdistan”, which was not recognised and was ended by British intervention. Attributed to International Centre for Defence and Security (2017)

    • International Centre for Defence and Security, A Hundred Years of Attempts to Create an Independent Kurdistan (International Centre for Defence and Security (Tallinn), 19 December 2017) link, section on Sheikh Mahmut Barzanji. Source record
  10. 10.

    Claim: Qazi Muhammad announced the formation of the Kurdish Republic of Mahabad on 22 January 1946, a republic declared “within the limits of the Iranian state” in Soviet-controlled north-western Iran, and invited Mustafa Barzani of Iraq to form its armed force. Attributed to International Centre for Defence and Security (2017)

    • International Centre for Defence and Security, A Hundred Years of Attempts to Create an Independent Kurdistan (International Centre for Defence and Security (Tallinn), 19 December 2017) link, section on the Republic of Mahabad. Source record
  11. 11.

    Claim: After Soviet forces withdrew from north-western Iran in 1946, Iran reasserted control and the republic was destroyed; Qazi Muhammad was hanged in Mahabad on 31 March 1947, and Barzani and his fighters escaped to the Soviet Union. Attributed to International Centre for Defence and Security (2017)

    • International Centre for Defence and Security, A Hundred Years of Attempts to Create an Independent Kurdistan (International Centre for Defence and Security (Tallinn), 19 December 2017) link, section on the Republic of Mahabad. Source record
  12. 12.

    Claim: Mustafa Barzani returned to Iraq in 1958 and led revolts against Iraqi governments; the longest began in 1961 and ended with an autonomy agreement in 1970, which collapsed in 1974.

    • International Centre for Defence and Security, A Hundred Years of Attempts to Create an Independent Kurdistan (International Centre for Defence and Security (Tallinn), 19 December 2017) link, section on the Molla Mustafa Barzani movement. Source record
    • BBC News, Who are the Kurds? (BBC, First published 21 October 2014; updated 15 October 2019) link, section on Iraq. Source record
  13. 13.

    Claim: On 19 May 1992 the Kurdistan Front held regional elections under Law No. 1 of 1992; the elected Kurdistan National Assembly had convened by 15 July 1992 and the Kurdistan Regional Government was established.

    • Kurdistan Parliament – Iraq, History of Parliament (Kurdistan Parliament) link, paras. 5–13. Government perspective or primary official source Source record
  14. 14.

    Claim: On 25 September 2017 a unilaterally declared referendum on independence was held in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and in some disputed areas outside it, including Kirkuk Governorate.

    • United Nations Secretary-General, Report of the Secretary-General pursuant to resolution 2367 (2017) (United Nations, 19 October 2017) link, para. 2, p. 1. Source record
  15. 15.

    Claim: The BBC reports that in response to uprisings in the 1920s and 1930s many Kurds in Turkey were resettled, Kurdish names and costumes were banned, and the use of the Kurdish language was restricted. Attributed to BBC News (2019)

    • BBC News, Who are the Kurds? (BBC, First published 21 October 2014; updated 15 October 2019) link, section on Turkey. Source record
  16. 16.

    Claim: According to the BBC, the PKK established by Abdullah Öcalan in 1978 called for an independent state and began an armed struggle in 1984, and in the 1990s rolled back its demand for independence in favour of greater cultural and political autonomy. Attributed to BBC News (2019)

    • BBC News, Who are the Kurds? (BBC, First published 21 October 2014; updated 15 October 2019) link, section on Turkey. Source record
  17. 17.

    Claim: In Syria, Kurdish parties led by the PYD declared autonomous administrations in 2014 and a federal system in 2016; as reported in 2019, the PYD said it was not seeking independence but legal guarantees and recognition of Kurdish autonomy. Attributed to BBC News (2019)

    • BBC News, Who are the Kurds? (BBC, First published 21 October 2014; updated 15 October 2019) link, section on Syria. Source record
  18. 18.

    Claim: ICDS identifies internal rivalry among Kurdish groups and dependence on international support as recurring obstacles to Kurdish statehood. Attributed to International Centre for Defence and Security (2017)

    • International Centre for Defence and Security, A Hundred Years of Attempts to Create an Independent Kurdistan (International Centre for Defence and Security (Tallinn), 19 December 2017) link, introduction and conclusions. Source record
  19. 19.

    Claim: Carnegie’s Diwan reported in July 2026 that during the war that began on 28 February 2026, Iran carried out hundreds of strikes on exiled Iranian Kurdish groups in Iraqi Kurdistan, and that seven Iranian Kurdish factions had formed an alliance in February 2026. Attributed to Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Diwan), July 2026

    • van Wilgenburg, Wladimir, Kurdish Rebel Groups Are Wary of Tehran’s Next Move (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Diwan), July 2026) link, opening paragraphs. Source record
  20. 20.

    Claim: The same report states that a March 2023 security agreement calls on Iraq to disarm Iranian Kurdish parties along the border, most of which are based in areas under the Kurdistan Regional Government. Attributed to Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Diwan), July 2026

    • van Wilgenburg, Wladimir, Kurdish Rebel Groups Are Wary of Tehran’s Next Move (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Diwan), July 2026) link, article text. Source record

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Printed from https://independenceatlas.com/movements/kurdish-self-determination/history · last substantive update 15 September 2026.