Modernity and its Impact on Western Occupation: A Study of the Kurdish Case

Introduction 

Modernity was an opposition to its predecessor. Rationality, the belief in the supremacy of human reason were core beliefs of Modernity. Therefore, various social, philosophical, economic, and political ideas appeared in forms of governance as well. Occupation was expanded and accelerated, especially by the highly industrialised states. In the era of modernity, the processes of occupation and colonisation were supported by science and technology, with the aim of legitimising their occupation.

Research question: the main question in this paper is, What is the relationship between Modernity and the Western Occupation process?  To what is modernity attributed? How has modernity been defined? 

Research significance and choice of the title: the importance and value of the research lies in the fact that we have tried to explain in a precise and scientific manner the causes and the nature of the emergence of modernity, and that’s based on many books and articles and specialised publications related to our topic.  

Research Aims: the aim of this paper is to present the reasons for the emergence of modernity and the nature of its formation, to investigate and analyse the event that led to its emergence, and to explain the principles and the reasons for its emergence and the attitude of the occupier states. To investigate this by focusing on the stages of modernity in occupation has been one of our most important aims. 

Research methodology: the methodology used in this study is the descriptive and deductive analytic method. For research on events, we have relied on several sources, such as books in various languages, articles, and other publications. 

Research structure: this paper consists of two main parts, in the first part (the concept of Modernity and the history of its emergence) we have divided it into two sections. Therein, the concept of Modernity is defined. The second part sheds light on the History and the emergence of Modernity and Postmodernity. In the second section (modernity and postmodernity and occupation) we have emphasised on the process of occupation in the times of modernity and postmodernity. In addition, the absence of modernity in Kurdish history along with the Kurdish occupation in the modern era have been discussed. 

The concept of modernity and the history of its emergence

A1. The concept of Modernity 

The concept of modernity was first used by Quijano Anibal, who outlined the political objectives behind this concept within a broad definition. The concept was later developed and emphasised upon by Walter Mignolo. On the relationship between the concepts of Modernity and Coloniality, both scholars believe that both concepts are interconnected and are two sides of the same coin, they claim that modernity aims to accomplish the goals of colonialism albeit in a new manner.  Also, according to the De-colonialist school of thought, modernity is the dark side of colonialism, using new methods to alter violent colonial agenda and framing it in a new context (1). 

The conflict between the Old and New, originating in Post-mediaeval or Renaissance Europe, is primarily a concept in science, technology, philosophy, art, architecture, and related fields. Modernism and Modernity are two different concepts, modernism is an external remnant of Western civilization (2).  The origin of the term modernity goes back to (Modo) from ancient Latin and (Modernus) from new Latin, which means recent, which is also translated as contemporary.  The term modernity has a long history. In its Latin form, it was first used in the 5th century AD to differentiate between Roman and Pagan times (3). 

A2. Definition of Modernity 

Modernity, like most concepts in the human sciences, does not fit in a single static definition and it has several definitions and interpretations, sometimes depending on the era. Some of the definitions are:

French sociologist Alain Touraine claims that modernity is not only the passage of time and a simple change, but it is in essence the diffusion of the products of human intellectual activity and the products of other scientific, technological, and administrative activities. Modernity places science at the centre of social life, replacing the occult or the metaphysical mentality (4). 
Modernity is a revolution for a man-centric and reason-centric society, that is modernity is the historical period in which man becomes the central subject of life in all spheres and the human mind is seen as a trustworthy instrument which gives direction to man (5). 
Modernity is the logic of a new worldview, modernity means living in a world that is different from the old one, and therefore it must be treated with different methodologies (6). 

The Rise of Modernity

Regarding the rise of modernity, there are different views, some trace it to the beginning of the industrial revolution in Europe, while others associate it with the Enlightenment in the 18th century, some others associate it with Martin Luther’s renaissance and reformation (7). The rise of modernity can be explained within four main contexts, because modernity came to being as a process that lasted a few centuries (8). They are the following:

First; Renaissance: caused an exchange of ideas and culture and art which eventually led to humanism. The end of the Christian crusades and the return of the soldiers from the battlefields and the telling of the advancements of the outside world in comparison to Europe, which was similar to a prison because of the strength of religious institutions, caused an expansion of trade and and the opening of the doors of Europe to the outside world (8). 

Second; Religious reform: the cause of religious pluralism and the decline of catholic fundamentalism. It reduced the influence of the catholic church as the main political and economical power (9). 

Third; the enlightenment and the age of reason: this was the cause of the scientific revolution and the decline of religious dogmatisms. The concept of enlightenment dates to the beginning of the 18th century, it was an intellectual movement that attempted to create a space for the development and reception of new sciences in a logical way (10). Generally speaking, the characteristics of enlightenment are as follows: 

- The belief in progress.
- The belief in the centrality of the human mind, and, the perception of reason as the only means to resolve issues. 
- The equation of reason to freedom, and, emphasising on reason as an instrument for social progress. 
- Humanism, meaning that one prioritises and comprehends enlightenment, as a result of them developing their cognitive capacities. 
-Emphasis on truth as a systemic foundation of knowledge, and focalizing the attainment of truth as a project. 
 -A clear opposition to religion. 
-In politics, the defence of the natural rights of man by law and government establishment of a system that prevents the violation of power (11). 

Fourth; The Industrial Revolution, A product of economic and technological developments. 

One of the consequences of modernity was the rationalisation of Society and Science. Additionally, Science was separated from Metaphysics, the Scientific Method rose in favour of dogmatism. Lastly, Reason was seen as the ultimate judge in every field, and this led to a rational (calculating) approach to life. Control is another consequence.

The goal of modernity was to dominate all intentions, instincts, opinions, and behaviours that do not stem from reason; that is to control not only nature but Man himself, to control society and ultimately life itself. The rise of the secular state, and the spread of secularism in all spheres of life.

The loss of freedom. The enlightenment postulated the reason-freedom equation, which proposes that as rationality increases, so does freedom. In this respect, 
Hegel believed that freedom is attained through understanding fate, the more power over fate through knowledge and reason (rationality) the more freedom increases. (20). 

Science and technology are considered to be of the most important fields of modernity and postmodernity, although modernity only includes the seven major industrial nations that govern the world namely, The United Kingdom, France, Canada, Italy, Germany, and Japan (21). These countries have been able, through technology, to project their power onto most of the world. 

B. Modernity and Occupation 

B1. Modernity and Racism

Modernity created fertile grounds for the rise of racist ideologies. Modern ethics were driven by scientific rationale, just as the ethics of premodern societies were driven from religion or mythologies. Thus,  the theory of racism had to take on a scientific form as a disguise. Indeed, that was the task that ethnologists, linguists, and humanistic psychologists undertook in the early 19th century (15). The 19th century is known for seeking scientific methods and evidence to prove superiority and difference between the human races. As a result, several researches appeared such as the one conducted by  Scottish scientist Robert Knox, on the shape of the human skull. Knox proposed that the white man’s skull is more round and of higher pedigree in comparison to the black man’s skull, which is longer and closer in shape to an animal's. Furthermore, Ernest Renan’s supposed linguistic evidence claimed that the mind of the Aryan race is superior to the Semitic mind. Scientific racism reached its peak with the rise of Nazism (16), which led to the occupation of many countries in Europe by Nazi Germany (17). In the postmodern era, yet another form of racism emerged, which was Cultural Racism. The historical speech by conservative parliamentarian Enoch Paul 1968 in Birmingham, the industrial capital of England, illustrates this form of racism. Paul predicted that a flood of bloodshed would occur in England if the immigration policies were to remain in place. In his view, those policies support the Apartheid , favouring the Black population in Britain to the white population. It is clear that this “New Racism”, as British political researcher Martin Barker put it in his famous work published in 1981 under the same name, is related to the rise of immigration to Western Europe. What differentiates this form of racism from the previous ones is that, the racist rhetoric pointed at immigrants is based on cultural differences rather than biological factors (18). Cultural racism is a discriminatory. Its discourse rejects the other insofar as they belong to a different culture, and it claims that each culture has its own unchangeable essence and that there could be no reconciliation between different cultures. 

B2. Kurds and Modernity 

It can be said that the Kurds have not yet gone through the stages of modernity and postmodernity, because they have not been able to go through the stages of history properly, and have not adapted scientific progress. For example, in Kurdish history, there has not been a period of renaissance or religious reform, nor of secularisation nor nation-state building, instead the Kurds have remained more traditional. In the first quarter of the 20th century, the occupiers of Kurdistan began to modernise. The Turks launched their political modernization through Kemalism and they built the Turkish nation-state based on Turkish nationalism. The Arabs, following the Sykes-Picot agreement, began building their Arab nation-states based on Arabic culture and ethnic identity.  In Iran, to make up for the humiliating defeats against Russian in the 19th century, the Iranians tried to modernise the state, resulting in the emergence of Raza Shah and the Pahlavi-ruled modern state which attempted to gain sovereignty of the nation within the geopolitical territory of Iran (25). 

The First World War (1914-1918), led to the the political and social division of the Kurds, the destruction and mass murder in all parts of Kurdistan, and it is still ongoing, many of the tools of destruction used on the Kurds, are products of modernity and knowledge, especially chemical weapons and several others, so we can say that although Kurdistan has not reached modernity, but it has been a victim of the progress of science and technology, during modernity Kurdistan has been occupied and forcefully linked and made part to the occupying state, and the law has legitimised this occupation of Kurdistan.

Conclusion 

Etymologically, ‘Modernity’ is derived from the old Latin ‘Modo’ and new Latin ‘Modernus’ , meaning contemporary and modern. The term modernity has a long history, it was first used in the 5th century AD to distinguish between Roman and Pagan times. As a period of history, modernity denotes an epoch in which ideological and spiritual boundaries were completely transformed. Modernity is the result of several historical stages like the Renaissance, Religious Reformation, The Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution.  Modern transformations extended to intellectual, social, cultural, political and economic contexts. Additionally, Postmodernism emerged as a result of a focus on political and social ideals in the mid 20th century. In the 1960s and the 1970s, a phenomenon arose, followers of the postmodern thought denied modernity and held scepticism of any belief system. In the modern and postmodern eras, occupation expanded rapidly as a result of science and technology. In these periods, occupation was given a number of legal principles aimed at legitimising occupation. Lastly, the Kurds have not been able to reach modernity, and this as a result of the geopolitics of Kurdistan, which has become a victim of occupation and destruction, especially after the First world war. It has been divided into four parts. In the modern era, the occupation of Kurdistan has been faster and more destructive compared to its predecessors.