“…At first sight the Kurdish case, one of the most prominent examples of an internationalized ethnicized conflict, and in particular the PKK sanctuary in Iraqi Kurdistan, seem to fit this pattern of ethnic alliance formation as if taken from a textbook and consequently is routinely cited as a model case for these dynamics (Gurr & Harff, 1994;Kaufmann, 1996;Kirisci & Winrow, 1997;Byman, 1998;Freij, 1998;Helsing, 2004;Husain & Shumock, 2006;Milton-Edwards & Hinchcliffe, 2008;Rear, 2008;Salehyan, 2009). Of the countless instances of banditry, pillaging raids, minor insurrections, insurgencies and rebellions, one or another self-proclaimed Kurdish NLM has been involved in the border region of Iran, Turkey, Iraq and Syria since World War I; hardly any has not had an international dimension or has not escalated to the international level, that is, sought shelter across the border, shared intelligence, received logistical support and armaments, and joined forces on a temporary basis.…”