Nicole F. Watts
Publication January 14 2025, NYU Press
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A political history of Kurdish Iraq told through the extraordinary rags-to-riches story of a childhood refugee​
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In the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, Iraqi president Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons against his own people, the Iraqi Kurds. Five thousand people died in what became known as the Halabja Massacre, deemed the worst chemical attack against civilians in history. Nicole F. Watts, a professor of political science and former journalist, has spent over a decade researching the struggles of the Kurdish people in Iraq, and in vivid, lyrical prose, she tells their story through the eyes of Peshawa, a young Muslim Kurd whose family barely survived the bombing and then fled for their lives.
Throughout the book, the thread of Peshawa’s quest to make something of his life immerses readers in the everyday and extraordinary world of Iraqi Kurds from the late 1980s to the present, exploring ordinary people's efforts to bring democracy to their homeland, and the meaning of community and dislocation in the wake of war and genocide.
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Watch an interview with the author about the book
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the real life protagonist
Peshawa and Nicole met in the hallway at the American University of Iraq-Sulaimani, in December of 2009, when Peshawa was an undergraduate. Nicole was doing research on a protest that took place in Halabja in 2006. Peshawa became her research assistant, her friend, and -- eventually -- the protagonist of this book.
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Today, Peshawa is back in Kurdistan. He does executive coaching and market analysis, and worked until recently to promote youth education and empowerment as head of community at the Office of Initiatives and Communications, under the direction of the Prime Ministry of the Kurdistan Regional Government. For news and updates about him and activities, see here. For his TedX talk on "The Power of Hope" (in Kurdish) see here. In 2023 Kurdistan's Rudaw News did a feature on him. To watch on YouTube, see here. Regional Government
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Nicole F. Watts
Nicole F. Watts, a professor of political science at San Francisco State University and former journalist, has published widely on Kurdish affairs in Iraq and Turkey. Winner of Fulbright and MacArthur awards, she is author of Activists in Office: Kurdish Politics and Protest in Turkey (University of Washington Press 2010). She's also an Irish set dancer, dog agility competitor, and plodding but committed runner. She holds a PhD from the University of Washington, an MFA in creative writing from San Francisco State University, and an MA from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies.
the making of the book, in IMAGES
Documentary sources
Peshawa and Family
Kurdistan and Beyond
reviews & Advance praise
"An original and beautifully written account of Iraqi Kurdistan, depicted through the eyes of a Kurd born just after his family fled the 1988 chemical bombing of Halabja. Watts uses her light touch and deep knowledge of the region to go far beyond dry history books, explaining the human side of wars that traumatize a whole population, the dilemmas of the disastrous 2017 Kurdistan independence referendum and how authoritarian clan leaders perpetuate their exploitative hold on power. Above all, her use of an accurate, vivid, fiction-like style allows the reader to experience everyday Middle Eastern life, including finding a wife in society's 'wedding bureaucracy,' the warm, high-minded decency of a conservative Muslim Kurdish family, and the constant awareness and acceptance of how thin the line between life and death can be."
~Hugh Pope, author of Dining with Al Qaeda, co-editor of The Keys to Democracy: Sortition as a New Model for Citizen Power
"A beautifully written account of recent Iraqi Kurdish history as seen through the eyes of a child, soon to become a young man struggling to build a future for himself, moving in concert with the rebirth of Iraqi Kurdistan from the ashes of disaster, such as the 1988 Iraqi chemical attack on Halabja, his hometown."
~Joost Hiltermann, author of A Poisonous Affair: America, Iraq, and the Gassing of Halabja
"In a riveting and innovative work of narrative non-fiction, Nicole F. Watts tells the story of Iraqi Kurdistan through the life of one remarkable young man from Halabja. Combining deep academic research and an empathetic ear for the humanity of her subjects, Watts brings to life the Kurdish experience from the horrors of the Halabja chemical weapons attacks and the struggle for independence to the daily struggles for education, work, and love."
~Marc Lynch, author of The Arab Uprisings: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East
"By following a young man from Halabja as he moves from Northern Iraq to the United States and back, Republic of Dreams presents a vivid slice of Kurdish life, culture, and politics during a turbulent period. What comes through in Watts’ exceptionally engaging prose is this young man’s resourcefulness and his determination not to give up even in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges. His story opens a window for us to think through and understand how the Kurdish people and their politics have persevered in the face of unimaginable cruelties, betrayals, and repeated disappointments since the early twentieth century. Republic of Dreams is that rare book that manages to bring some extremely complicated global, regional, and national issues to the level of an individual, relate them to his dreams and aspirations and make them understandable and relatable in a personal and a universal way."
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~Resat Kasaba, author of A Moveable Empire: Ottoman Nomads, Migrants, and Refugees