The Kurdish question is one of the longest unresolved political and national questions in the Middle East. Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of the modern regional order after the First World War, the Kurdish homeland was divided principally among Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, leaving the Kurdish people without a state of their own.

Since then, Kurdish communities have experienced very different political circumstances in each of these states, including periods of conflict, repression, restrictions on language and cultural expression, displacement, as well as varying degrees of political recognition and autonomy. Kurdish movements have responded through different political, cultural, and, at times, armed struggles.

Understanding the Kurdish question therefore requires more than examining a single conflict or country. It requires understanding the history of Kurdistan, the policies of the states governing its different regions, Kurdish demands for political and cultural rights, and the continuing search for democratic and peaceful solutions.