David McDowall is an author specialising in Middle Eastern affairs. He studied Islamic history under Albert Hourani for his first degree and wrote his post-graduate dissertation on the Druze revolt in Syria, 1925-27. He has worked for the British Council and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, before becoming a full-time writer on Britain, Palestine, Lebanon and the Kurds.

Glossary of Abbreviations
Glossary of Middle Eastern terms
Foreword
Ch 1. Introduction: Kurdish identity and social formation
Book I THE KURDS IN THE AGE OF TRIBE AND EMPIRE
Ch. 2. Kurdistan before the nineteenth century
Ch. 3. Ottoman Kurdistan, 1800-1850
Ch. 4. Ottoman Kurdistan, 1850-1908
Ch. 5. The Qajars and the Kurds
Ch. 6. Revolution, nationalism and war, 1900-1918
Book II INCORPORATING THE KURDS
Ch. 7. Redrawing the map: the partition of Ottoman Kurdistan
Ch. 8. The Kurds, Britain and Iraq
Ch. 9. Incorporating Turkey's Kurds

Book III ROJHILAT (EAST): NATIONALISM IN IRAN
Ch. 10. The Kurds under Reza Shah
Ch. 11. Tribe or ethnicity? The Mahabad Republic
Ch. 12. Iran: Creating a national movement
Ch. 13. Subjects of the Shi'i republic

Book IV BASÛR (SOUTH): NATIONALISM IN IRAQ
Ch. 14. The birth of the national movement under Hashemite rule
Ch. 15. The Kurds in revolutionary Iraq
Ch. 16. The Kurds under the Ba'th, 1968- 1975
Ch. 17. The road to genocide, 1975-1988
Ch. 18. Uprising and self-rule

Book V BAKUR (NORTH): NATIONALISM IN TURKEY
Ch. 19. The Kurdish national revival in Turkey, 1946-1979
Ch.20. The PKK and the mass movement
Book VI ROJAVA (WEST): NATIONALISM IN SYRIA
Ch.21. Living apart in French and independent Syria
Book VII INTO THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: THE FIRST TWO DECADES
Ch. 22. Iran's Kurds: no sign of the dawn
Ch. 23. Syria's Kurds: coming of age in civil war
Ch. 24. Turkey's Kurds: the search for resolution
Ch. 25. Iraq's Kurds: from dream to disillusionment
Book VIII DIASPORA KURDS
Ch. 26. The Kurds in exile: building the nation
AFTERWORD
Appendix 1. The Treaty of Sèvres
Appendix 2. The Kurds in Lebanon
Appendix 3. The Kurds of the Caucasus

David McDowall's ground-breaking history of the Kurds from the 19th century to the present day documents the underlying dynamics of the Kurdish question.
The division of the Kurdish people among the modern nation states of Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran and their struggle for national rights continues to influence the politics of the Middle East. Drawing extensively on primary sources - including documents from The National Archive and interviews with prominent Kurds - the book examines the interplay of old and new aspects of the struggle, the importance of local rivalries and leadership within Kurdish society, and the failure of modern states to respond to the challenge of Kurdish nationalism.
In this new and revised edition, McDowall also analyses the momentous transformations affecting Kurdish socio-politics in the last 20 years. With updates throughout and substantial new material included, this fourth edition of the book reflects the developments in the field and the areas which have gained importance and understanding. This includes new analysis of the Kurdish experience in Syria; the role of political Islam in Kurdish society and Kurds' involvement in Islamist Jihad; and issues surrounding women and gender that were previously overlooked, from the impact of the women's equality movement to how patriarchal practices within the Kurdish community still limit its progress. The foundation text for Kurdish Studies, this book highlights in detail the changing situation of the Kurds across the Middle East.