The Kurdish Question in the Misleading British Press (1919-1932) : A Historical-Analytical Study

Abstract

"The research titled (The Kurdish Question in the Misleading British Press 1919-1932: A Historical-Analytical Study) seeks to deconstruct the functional role of the media as a propaganda tool used to justify colonial policies. Its core problem revolves around the radical contradiction in a discourse that transformed the Kurds from a people with the right to self-determination into a 'demographic tool' used to counter Turkish ambitions, and eventually into 'rebels' who had to be crushed to secure Iraq's independence and its admission into the League of Nations in 1932. The importance of this study lies in revealing the synergy between propaganda systems and strategic oil interests, employing an 'analytical approach' to examine British Foreign Office documents and League of Nations records. The research is organized into three sections covering the stage of promises (1919-1922), the Lausanne conflict and the settlement of the Mosul issue (1923-1926), and the termination of the Mandate along with the international abandonment of the Kurds (1927-1932). The study concluded with several key results, most notably: that the British press was not a neutral observer but rather functioned as a propaganda wing to legitimize military suppression and aerial bombardment. Furthermore, it proved that Kurdish identity was utilized as a flexible 'pressure card' that was magnified or marginalized according to the shifting compass of imperial interests. This ultimately led to the institutionalization of the international abandonment of Kurdish rights, establishing it as a persistent historical crisis."