The Geopolitics of Conflict in Kirkuk and Its Impact on Regional Balance Policies after 2017

Abstract

The city of Kirkuk is characterized by a wide range of strategic assets that have granted it a prominent position at both the domestic and regional levels. These attributes have rendered the city a focal point of attraction and contention between Arabs and Kurds since the early formation of the Iraqi state and continuing to the present day. The intensity of the conflict escalated due to the failure of the central government to implement the provisions stipulated in Article 140 of the permanent Iraqi Constitution of 2005. In 2017, the Kurdistan Regional Government took a unilateral step by holding an independence referendum that included Kirkuk, which prompted regional powers— in coordination with the Iraqi federal government— to adopt a set of policies aimed at reasserting control over the city.

Keywords: Kirkuk, conflict, regional balance.