Between State and Non-State

Gülistan Gürbey is Adjunct Professor of Political Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.Sabine Hofmann is Researcher and Lecturer at the Center for North Africa and Middle Eastern Politics, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, and the Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Marburg, Germany.Ferhad Ibrahim Seyder is Professor of Political Science at the Center for Kurdish Studies, University of Erfurt, Germany.

• Introduction: Conceptualizing De Facto Statehood of Kurdistan-Iraq and Palestine .- The Iraqi Kurds: Historical backgrounds of a non-state nation .- Historical Background of the State-Building Process in Palestine .- The Evolution of the Political System of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq .- The (Quasi) Political System of Palestine .- The Economic System(s) of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq .- What is the “Palestinian Economy”? .- The Reality of Civil Society in Kurdistan Region .- Civil Society in Palestine .- The United States and the Kurds of Iraq: Strange Allies .- Palestinian Diplomacy: Past and Present .- Understanding Kurdistan-Iraq and Palestine: Comparative Features, Similarities and Differences  .- Reflections of Statehood in the Middle East.