Kurds are the oldest ethnic group in northwest Asia, and their population is second only to Arabs, Turks and Persians. They believe in Islam, mostly Sunni, speak Kurdish, and are scattered in the Middle East countries. They are typical transnational nations. Among them, Iraqi Kurds account for one-fifth of Iraq's total population and are the most populous ethnic minority in Iraq, mainly living in northern Iraq with a population of more than 4 million. The terrain here is dangerous, oil production accounts for more than half of Iraq, and agricultural products are rich. Kurds are mainly engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry, and some Kurds are engaged in oil production.

Kurds are eager for national and political independence. 1958 after the founding of the Republic of Iraq, the Kurds held many negotiations with the Iraqi government. 1970 In March, the Iraqi government and the Kurdish Democratic Party reached an autonomy peace agreement. 1975 In March, the Kurds reached an agreement with the Iraqi government to establish an autonomous region including northern Iraq. There are two major political and military organizations in the Kurdish region of Iraq, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, which have been fighting for control of the region for more than 20 years. 199 1 After the Gulf War, Iraqi Kurds launched a large-scale armed action against Saddam Hussein's regime and won some military victories, but they were brutally suppressed by Saddam Hussein's regime, and a large number of Kurds fled to Iran and Turkey. In order to protect the security of Kurds, in April, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 688, condemning the Iraqi authorities' repression of Kurds. The armies of the United States, Britain and France set up a "no-fly zone" north of 36 degrees north latitude in Iraq. In 2003, Kurds actively participated in the "anti-Saddam" war and longed for greater autonomy in the "new Iraq".

Now it seems that Saddam Hussein and his regime have fallen, but the Kurds may not be able to achieve their political goals. In the new Iraq with "democratic federalism" in the future, Kurds can only obtain a certain degree of autonomy. Of course, Kurds are no longer under pressure from the Baghdad authorities, and their political status has been improved as never before.

A certain degree of autonomy means that Kurdish autonomy comes with a series of conditions. For example, it is impossible for Kurds to gain control of oil fields in their territory, and at most they have the right to share the benefits of oil fields. The Kurdish military organization of 50,000 people will have to become a part of the Federal Iraqi National Army, and the rights of ethnic minorities living with Kurds, such as Turkmen and Chaldeans, will also be protected. In the new American-led Iraqi Constitution, the autonomy granted to Kurds obviously fully takes into account the balance of domestic political forces in Iraq, because neither the American and British occupation authorities in Iraq nor the new Iraqi regime hope that this will lead to the demand for the separation of Shia Muslims, who account for 60% of Iraq.

At this point, the author is interested in not only a simple Iraqi Kurdish issue, but also the so-called "stateless people" in the world.

What is a "stateless nation"? This is a controversial concept. In today's world, people of any nationality belong to a certain country. From the perspective of nationality, there is no nation (ethnic group) in the world without a country. But from the perspective of "identity politics" or nationalism, a series of nationalities (ethnic groups) think that they have no country based on their own nationalities. In other words, some political forces from these ethnic groups do not identify with their own country, but seek to establish their own so-called nation-state.

Kurds are typical "stateless people" in the world. In addition to them, in Europe and North America, there are "stateless peoples" such as Catalonia, Scotland, Quebec, Basque, Chechnya, Northern Ireland and Corsica; In many countries in Asia and Africa, even Australia and New Zealand, due to historical reasons, such political and social forces exist. After the cold war, these "stateless peoples" demanded autonomy and independence (separation) to varying degrees. Nationalism without nationality is a major problem in contemporary world politics.

In fact, the Kurdish issue is precisely the nationalism of such a "stateless nation". This is a very difficult problem for the Kurds themselves, their Iraqi country and the international community.

Obviously, looking forward to the future, in any case, most "stateless peoples" in the world cannot become "nationalized peoples". Because if so, countries will disintegrate one after another and the current world order will fall into chaos. However, countries, regional organizations and the international community cannot ignore the claims of these political forces.

In Iraq's future political arrangements, both the United States, Britain and the United Nations are facing the "Kurdish issue". What is certain is that the situation of Kurds will be greatly improved under the great political changes in Iraq. However, due to internal and external factors, Iraqi Kurds can only be a part of Iraqis, and it is impossible to obtain an unrealistic high degree of autonomy or even independent political status. Most other "stateless peoples" in the world can make full use of their own political and social changes and the trend of globalization in the world to improve their political and economic situation and gain the right to influence their national destiny to a greater extent; However, it is obviously difficult for them to achieve the traditional nationalist goal of having their own "nation state". In the environment of globalization and democratization, such a traditional goal is even an inappropriate pursuit.