Every Time the World Asks “Who Are the Kurds?” There Is a Crisis in the Middle East

Payne Institute Fellow Peri-Khan Aqrawi-Whitcomb writes about how whenever a “Who Are the Kurds?” explainer appears in your feed, and they’re landing right now, you already know two things: there is war somewhere in the Middle East, and someone is hoping the Kurds will help win or contain it.  Spread across Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, they are widely regarded as the largest stateless nation in the world. March 16, 2026.