Kurdistan and the Kurds, Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou’s doctoral thesis, was published by the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in 1965, almost two decades before his later thesis on democratic socialism. This book undoubtedly played a significant role in shaping his political career, as he was regarded as a great economist across the Middle East and a pro-democracy and nationalist thinker.
Dr. Ghassemlou, the author of Kurdistan and the Kurds, differs markedly from the Dr. Ghassemlou who emerged a few years after the book’s publication. This contrast is most evident in his evolving views on the Soviet Union and the socialist parties aligned with it. In the book, he expresses optimism about the potential role of the Soviet Bloc in advancing the Kurdish national-liberation movement.
However, in the following years, his perspective shifted significantly. He began to criticize the Soviet Union’s lack of political democracy and to condemn the dogmatism inherent in Marxist-Leninist ideology. This transformation culminated in his A Treatise on Socialism (1981), where he argues that Western Social Democratic parties should be regarded as the principal allies of the Kurdish national-liberation movement.
Kurdistan and the Kurds offers a deep analysis of the Kurdish nation across the region, from historical, social, economic, and political perspectives. In his book, he provides a solid scientific foundation for the Kurdish national movement across the region, emphasizing the importance of addressing the Kurdish national issue within a democratic framework and advocating for a democratic approach in establishing socialism. However, due to specific contextual factors that we will discuss later, he refrains from criticizing the actual existing socialism of the time, the Soviet Union, as harshly as he does two decades later in A Treatise on Socialism.
In Kurdistan and the Kurds, he examines the Kurdish question within an analytical framework. The book is divided into major themes, including geography, history, economy, social structure, and politics.
An Excerpt of Ghassemlou, The Messenger of Peace, Reading Kurdistan and the Kurds, Soviet Hope before Turning to Social Democratic Alliances, pp. 183-200
