The Interface of political borders and underdevelopment: Türkiye-Iraq border

The borders drawn while determining the world political map have separated the related communities over time, turning the border regions into places of poverty. These border regions on the periphery, where ties with the center are weak and which governments sometimes leave to their fate, remain in the vicious circle of poverty and underdevelopment. Especially with the increasing war, violence, instability and migration around the world, the borders of states have become less permeable areas. Today, when the borders started to be walled, borders have turned into low-intensity conflict areas where security is at the highest level. Every state strives to establish its national economy and to ensure that economic prosperity prevails on its territory. In this direction, the world political geography map is also the map of local economies and economic policies. The uneven development and unjust enrichment between the world's countries, which are divided into two as rich and poor, are getting deeper and deeper. A world order is being established where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Especially the border and border regions of the states have become centers of poverty at this point. The research area of this study is Türkiye and Iraq border and border region. In this study titled "The Effect of Geographical Environment on the Underdevelopment of the Turkey-Iraq Border", the socio-cultural and economic situation of the region will be examined in the context of the border, geography and underdevelopment with the perspective of political geography on the border. The inadequacy of the number of studies on the political, social and economic effects of the political borders on the life of the people living on the periphery of the country in this geography we live on has been decisive in the conduct of this study. Again, specific to the Turkey-Iraq border, there are questions that need to be answered as to how the relationship networks of these communities that live and are relatives in the border region, and how political, cultural and economic activities affect the lives of border people. In addition, the tribal ties of the border people, the positive and negative effects on the border in the historical process, and the changes in the border and border region have been the subjects that need to be investigated. Increasing interaction in border and border regions, overcoming the borders of political geography, and increasing structural changes in border studies have been important factors in the emergence of this study. Turkey's neighbor to the Middle East, where instability, conflict, war and migration are experienced, causes problems on its borders. In this study, the Turkey-Iraq border and the border region have been tried to be discussed in the context of political geography, border and backwardness. In this direction, the effect of the natural environment, human environment, economic geography and border people's perceptions on the underdevelopment of the Turkey-Iraq border were examined on the "multidimensional border model" thesis, which is a multidimensional, multifunctional, dynamic border. It has been tried to reveal how the socio-economic life practices of the people living in the border region with their relatives living on the other side of the border are through field studies, interviews and interviews. This study, prepared in the field of political geography, covers a field that includes the lands of Turkey and Iraq. For this, data were obtained from the field by using the data of both states and by conducting field studies in the region. The study has been prepared by considering the physical and human characteristics of the field, its economic, political and cultural aspects. In this context, besides the field research, data that will guide the research have been provided.