The “Unusable Past”: the Kurdish Question in Gertrude Bell’s Perception

Abstract. The article is devoted to analysis of the perception of the Kurdish issue during the formation of the mandated state of Iraq by appealing to the personal archive of the British traveller and intelligence officer of the Arab Bureau, Gertrude Margaret Bell (1868–1926). The works of the intelligence officer possess high relevance in the context of a critical interpretation of the events of this period in the Kurdish national discourse of
the 21st century. The main statement of it is the involuntary incorporation of the province into the state of Iraq. On the contrary, writings of G. Bell include number of reasons advocating for the necessity of that step. For example, one of the causes for Kurdish region to join the state was fragmentation of its territories, especially between the “centres” of the province and isolated outskirts, which did not take part in regional policymaking. In addition, G. Bell emphasizes economic interdependence of Kurdistan and Iraq that contributed to the voluntary cooperation of the part of Kurdish territories with Baghdad. Based on this, G. Bell equates Kurdish and Arab national interests. At the same time, the letters of
G. Bell demonstrate lack of clarity regarding the “Kurdish future” not only in the plans of local leaders, but also in Whitehall’s strategy. Thus, writings of Gertrude Bell highlight the complex nature of the Kurdish issue, and demonstrate the impossibility of considering Kurds solely as passive participants in interethnic relations.

Keywords: Gertrude Bell, Kingdom of Iraq, the Kurdish question, Kurdistan, history of Iraq, Faisal I, image of the Other, memory studies.