Natural resources and contested sovereignty: the case of the Kurdistan region in Iraq

This research sets out to investigate the links between natural resources and sovereignty. The existing scholarly literature shows that the links between natural resources and various dimensions of sovereignty have been largely overlooked. This thesis uses the concept of de facto statehood as its primary theoretical framework. This research employs a single-case study of the Kurdish de facto state to examine the oil sovereignty nexus between 2003 and 2019. It argues that the conflict over oil resources between the KRG and the Iraqi government is very difficult to resolve because it revolves around sovereignty rather than just financial interests. The findings of this research suggest that natural resources have a paradoxical impact on the sovereignty of the KRG. On the one hand, the KRG's sovereignty was strengthened by the high oil price between 2003 and 2013. On the other hand, the KRG's domestic and Westphalian sovereignty has been undermined from 2014 to 2019 by the low oil price in conjunction with other factors. While oil is crucial for the survival of the Kurdish de facto state and its engagement with foreign actors, it does not lead to the creation of a sovereign Kurdish state. The findings of this research also have significant implications for the direction of future research as they focus on issues such as competition over natural resources, contested sovereignty and natural re-sources as a foreign policy instrument, and also issues that are essential to understanding how sovereignty evolves.