Elections in the Kurdish region of Iraq are already five months overdue, and "disputes" over election law in the parliament keep extending its term. They recently voted themselves another year.
So it's kind of a dysfunctional parliamentary democratic republic.
While the Kurdish region functions a better than the rest of Iraq, in some ways it's less democratic. It's a fiefdom of two parties (KDP and PDK), run by two families (Barzanis and Talabanis) divided by an internal border. KDP has Erbil, Dohuk, PDK has Sulymaniyah. Each has its own Peshmerga and security services beholden to the parties/families. Even mobile phone services are divvied up. KDP and PDK fought their own war against each other in the 90s, when the USA was enforcing the no-fly zone against Saddam. Journalists have been killed for investigative reporting on the spoils system.
So, they're not ready to join these other Kurdish regions into a greater Kurdistan in an orderly way.
In no way would the borders on the posted map be agreed to by any parties. Years of blood would be guaranteed.
To your point about the “dangerous bad example” for authoritarian regimes, perhaps it would be far more accurate for us to recognize that for the Kremlin, Russia’s aggression and war against Ukraine ultimately is in response to a *domestic* political threat, and not primarily about geopolitical clashing with the US/ NATO/EU/“the West.” Though obviously, the two are intertwined in the terminally paranoid minds of Putin, Patrushev, and the other old KGB hands who predominate in Moscow’s ruling clique.
Note that Putin has spoken before of a distinction between “enemies” and “traitors.” The latter are far worse, because they--to coin a phrase--stab you in the back, and you can never trust them. Examples of these in Putin’s mind: Alexander Litvinienko, Sergei Skripal, Alexei Navalny, and increasingly, the people of Ukraine.
Elections in the Kurdish region of Iraq are already five months overdue, and "disputes" over election law in the parliament keep extending its term. They recently voted themselves another year.
So it's kind of a dysfunctional parliamentary democratic republic.
While the Kurdish region functions a better than the rest of Iraq, in some ways it's less democratic. It's a fiefdom of two parties (KDP and PDK), run by two families (Barzanis and Talabanis) divided by an internal border. KDP has Erbil, Dohuk, PDK has Sulymaniyah. Each has its own Peshmerga and security services beholden to the parties/families. Even mobile phone services are divvied up. KDP and PDK fought their own war against each other in the 90s, when the USA was enforcing the no-fly zone against Saddam. Journalists have been killed for investigative reporting on the spoils system.
So, they're not ready to join these other Kurdish regions into a greater Kurdistan in an orderly way.
In no way would the borders on the posted map be agreed to by any parties. Years of blood would be guaranteed.
To your point about the “dangerous bad example” for authoritarian regimes, perhaps it would be far more accurate for us to recognize that for the Kremlin, Russia’s aggression and war against Ukraine ultimately is in response to a *domestic* political threat, and not primarily about geopolitical clashing with the US/ NATO/EU/“the West.” Though obviously, the two are intertwined in the terminally paranoid minds of Putin, Patrushev, and the other old KGB hands who predominate in Moscow’s ruling clique.
Note that Putin has spoken before of a distinction between “enemies” and “traitors.” The latter are far worse, because they--to coin a phrase--stab you in the back, and you can never trust them. Examples of these in Putin’s mind: Alexander Litvinienko, Sergei Skripal, Alexei Navalny, and increasingly, the people of Ukraine.