Yaniv Voller is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Politics and International Relations Department at the University of Edinburgh. He has conducted and published studies on various aspects of the international politics of the Middle East, including secession, political reforms and gendered-violence.

I read the book entitled "The Kurdish Liberation Movement in Iraq: From Insurgency to Statehood" while I was writing a chapter on the Kurds of Iraq for the Encyclopedia of Modern Ethnic Conflicts in December 2014. What grabbed my attention was the books research design. It would not be wrong to argue that the vast majority of academic works on the Iraq Kurds include either chronological or policy-oriented research, however, Yaniv Voller's book covers much more than a historical background and policy implications. - Burak Bilgehan ÖZPECK, Department of International Relations. (2014)Voller embeds his study in the international relations theory of constructivism, which advocates the study of how states themselves understand their own interests and to not assume their interests as suggested by mainstream realist IR theory. Readers may also want to consult Robert Olson's 'The Goat and the Butcher'. - R. W. Olson, University of Kentucky Whether the krg’s increased legitimacy and economic autonomy will lead to independence will be determined in the near future. By highlighting the significant steps Kurdistan Region has taken toward statehood in the past twenty-five years of its existence, this book provides an insightful examination of this significant political question. - Cengiz Gunes, Bustan: The Middle East Book Review

• 1 Introduction 2 Understanding De Facto States 3 The Rise of the Kurdish Liberation Movement in Iraq 4 From a Minority to a De Facto State 5 The Second Decade of Autonomy 6 State-building in the KRG 7 Conclusion