ABSTRACT

Kosovars and Kurds represent two poles along the continuum of identity, nationalism, and self-determination as mediated by U.S. geostrategic goals. The Rohingya, most of whom are Muslim, like Kosovars and Kurds, have their identity intact. But, as a part of its “Pivot to Asia,” how might U.S. geostrategic goals in the region use the Rohingya nation while it struggles for recognition and self-determination? And what policies could the state of Bangladesh implement to blunt the effects of those goals? These are the questions this paper seeks to answer.

We begin with the one constant with which all countries big and small must contend: the foreign policy of the United States of America (U.S.). The world witnessed the U.S. create a state— as the Serbs would say, from the heart of Serbia—the Republic of Kosovo. Despite its characterization by some as a “narco-state” and its lack of universal international recognition, its biggest champion is the United States and that affords it positions in the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and a growing economy since its unilateral declaration of independence from pro-Russia Serbia in 2008.

The desire of the Kurds for statehood has not fared as well. Divided among Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran, Kurdish goals for recognition and self-determination have been used by the U.S. to deadly effect. In its latest effort at regime change—in Syria—the U.S. dangled the prospect of the creation of Kurdistan and enlisted Kurdish help in the armed struggle against Syria’s President, Bashar Al-Assad—until U.S. regional priorities changed, leaving the well-armed, battle-tested Kurds with several difficult choices. Kurdistan remains a dream.

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