The Politics ofIDPEducation Provision: Negotiating identity and schooling in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Abstract

The expansion of Islamic State control in Iraq led to massive internal displacement. Iraq now has one of the largest internally displaced populations in the world. Many families found relative safety in government‐controlled towns throughout the country; a large proportion sought refuge in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), having fled from its northern territories where Arabs, Kurds, Yezidis, Assyrians and Turkmen each claimed demographic dominance. Consequently, the KRI has become a sanctuary to almost a million Iraqi IDPs of varying ethnic backgrounds and cultures. This article draws on extensive regional fieldwork to explore the relationship between education provision for displaced populations and broader ethno‐sectarian and socio‐political influences. The article will unpack the research question: “In what ways does education for IDPs in KRI exacerbate or mitigate conflict?” and will highlight key areas in which misunderstanding of identity politics has resulted in reduced quality education for displaced populations.

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“…B. Irak/Autonome Region Kurdistan und Demokratische Republik Kongo -durch eine Überlappung verschiedener Anbieter von Schulen, z. B. staatliche und religiöse Organisationen, charakterisiert ist (Brandt, 2018;Shanks, 2019). Eine solche Arbeitsteilung kann dazu führen, dass nationale Ministerien einen nur sehr unzureichenden Überblick über alle Bildungsangebote haben.…”

“…B. Bengtsson & Naylor, 2016;Brandt, 2019;Ferris & Winthrop, 2010;Ghaffar-Kucher, 2019;Mendenhall, Gomez, & Varni, 2018;Shanks, 2019;Smith Ellison & Smith, 2013;Sommers, 2005).…”

Bildung für Binnenvertriebene? Über die (statistische) Vernachlässigung einer bedeutenden Gruppe

“…Nur wenige Publikationen widmen sich den Bildungschancen dieser Gruppe (z. B. Bengtsson & Naylor, 2016;Brandt, 2019;Ferris & Winthrop, 2010;Ghaffar-Kucher, 2019;Mendenhall, Gomez, & Varni, 2018;Shanks, 2019;Smith Ellison & Smith, 2013;Sommers, 2005 (Ferris & Winthrop, 2010;Ullah, Khan, & Mahmood, 2017).…”

“…Auch Lehrer/-innen selbst können Vorurteile haben -verstärkt durch die Polarisierung von Gruppenidentitäten in bewaffneten Konflikten -und sind somit nicht zwangsläufig neutrale Begleiter für alle Schüler/-innen (Bengtsson & Naylor, 2016). Shanks (2019) beschreibt außerdem einen Fall, bei dem binnenvertriebene Lehrer/-innen durch internationale Organisationen besser bezahlt wurden als einheimische Lehrer/-innen durch ihre Regierung. Dies kann zu großen Spannungen führen.…”

Preserving the values of cultural negotiation through social learning: ‘Two Religion Community Life’ case study in Phattalung, Southeast Thailand

“…In daily life, religion needs culture as a social basis to become a medium for the actualisation of its teachings (Christie, Gunton & Hejnowicz 2019;Rissanen 2020). When the appreciation of religious diversity is sustainably manifested in a culture over a long period of time, there is cultural negotiation (Sadr 2020;Shanks 2019). This happened between the Muslims and Buddhist communities in Tamot, Southern Thailand, especially in a region called 'Two Religion Community Life'. Cultural negotiation is frequently related to difference in religions.…”