Making Borders from Behind the Scenes: Turkish Opposition Efforts over Mosul during the Lausanne Conference (1922–1923)

The current Paper is focused on the Turkish-Iraqi border, specifically on Mosul, which was under Ottoman administration until just before the end of World War I (11th November 1918) and is now within the borders of Iraq. The so-called ‘Mosul Question’ has long attracted the attention of researchers, who have in particular studied the role played by the international actors – Turkey, Britain, and the latter’s allies in the war. Their studies have followed the events and developments of the subject, particularly during the Lausanne Conference, and even afterwards, when the Mosul issue was referred to the League of Nations, resulting in Mosul being placed under British mandate in 1926. The ‘main actors’ negotiated the fate of this region amidst intense competition that had far-reaching effects on the process of drawing the borders between the newly established Turkish state and Iraq, which was under British mandate at the time. Jordi Tejel’s study represents a significant contribution to these studies, as he goes beyond an analytical examination of the roles of the ‘main actors’ and undertakes an analytical examination at a different level: the local actor, in this context, the Kurds, especially the inhabitants of the border regions. This paper follows in Tejel’s footsteps and seeks to deepen research on the micro-historical level. It seeks to trace a ‘behind-the-scenes actor,’ namely the Turkish opposition, and study its role and impact on the Mosul issue and the process of shaping the ‘southern Turkish borders’ (Cenup hudutları) during the Lausanne negotiations.