Fluid and conditional patron-client relationships: The case of Turkey and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) has sustained itself as an entity, despite lacking international recognition and facing continuous pressure and threats from Baghdad, largely due to external support since its inception in 1991. This patronage takes two forms: external support for the KRI as a whole, and support for its two main parties. However, there has been limited analysis of the interplay between these two types of patron-client relationships, which is a significant gap in the existing literature on the KRI. This paper addresses this gap by examining the relationship between Ankara and Erbil, from the perspectives of both the patron and the client, drawing on interviews and observations. Of particular interest is that the patron-client relationship between Turkey and Kurdistan is not between a recognized state and a de facto entity, as traditionally studied in the literature, but rather between the ruling party in Ankara and the dominant party in Erbil.