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Journal of Contemporary Politics

Article

The Kurdish Question in Iran: A Challenge to the UN’s Self-Determination Doctrine
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Journal of Contemporary Politics

DOI: 10.53989/jcp.v4i1.23

Year: 2025, Volume: 4, Issue: 1, Pages: 20-32

Original Article

The Kurdish Question in Iran: A Challenge to the UN’s Self-Determination Doctrine

V Kiran Raj1,∗

1Assistant Professor (Guest Faculty), Department of International Relations and Politics, School of Global Studies, Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod, Kerala, India

*Corresponding Author
Email: [email protected]
[email protected]

Received Date:13 March 2025, Accepted Date:27 March 2025, Published Date:10 April 2025

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

The Kurdish issue in Iran challenges the United Nations' self-determination doctrine, highlighting tensions between state sovereignty, territorial integrity, and ethnic minority rights. The UN Charter and international legal instruments affirm the right to self-determination, but their application remains inconsistent, especially in cases where national governments resist secessionist or autonomy-seeking movements. This article examines the theoretical foundations of self-determination and legal and political dimensions of Kurdish self-determination claims in Iran, analysing Iran's response and the limitations of UN mechanisms. The study argues that the current international framework inadequately addresses the aspirations of stateless nations like the Kurds, necessitating a re-evaluation of self-determination in a 21st-century context.

Keywords: Kurdish Question, Self-Determination, United Nations, Minority Rights, International Law, Territorial Integrity, Secession, Ethnic Nationalism

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Copyright

© 2025 Published by Bangalore University. This is an open-access article under the CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) 

  • 10 June 2025

Year: 2025, Volume: 4, Issue: 1

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