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Published : 2026-09-30
Vol. 17 No. 60 (2026)

YEZIDI NATIONAL ASPIRATIONS AFTER 2014. THE AUTONOMY OF EZIDIḪAN AS A CLAIM TO SELF-DETERMINATION

Joanna Sikorska

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3740-1137

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35765/hp.2725
Section: Articles Varia

Abstract

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: This article analyses the Yezidis’ pursuit of self-determination, focusing on institutionalising their political subjectivity through the Autonomy of Ezidiḫan, proclaimed in 2015.

THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODOLOGY: The research problem is framed as a question: how did the 2014 genocide transform Yezidi ethno-religious identity into a project of ethno-national identity, and to what extent does the proclamation of Ezidiḫan constitute an exercise of internal self-determination? The study employs qualitative content analysis, the institutional-legal method and the historical method. Sources include Ezidiḫan government documents, Arabic-language Iraqi press, Iraqi, Kurdish and UN legal instruments, and Polish, English and Arabic scholarship.

THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The article first reconstructs a theoretical framework drawing on modernism, Anthony D. Smith’s ethnosymbolism, Rogers Brubaker’s notion of “groupness” and the distinction between internal and external self-determination. It then reviews the state of research, explains religion’s role as a group boundary, and traces four currents of Yezidi identity since the 1930s. Finally, it analyses the 2014 genocide and the dispute over Sinjar through Iraqi and Kurdish legal instruments.

RESEARCH RESULTS: The Autonomy of Ezidiḫan, proclaimed on 4 September 2015, meets the criteria of neither a quasi-state nor a de facto state; it is instead a claim to internal self-determination, expressed in the register of indigenous peoples’ rights. The 2014 genocide acted as a catalyst of “groupness” rather than the source of a national identity whose origins lie in the Yezidis’ incorporation into the modern Iraqi state in the 1930s.

CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The government’s activities reflect the nation-building aspirations of the Sinjar community, although their legitimacy among the resident population remains empirically unresolved. Adopting the language of indigenous peoples’ rights rather than secessionist rhetoric renders the Yezidi claim acceptable to Baghdad. Field research on support and comparison with other indigenous autonomy projects in the region are recommended.

Keywords

Yezidis ; Sinjar ; Islamic State ; nation ; Ezidiḫan



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