IntroductionU.S. foreign policy and the Kurds 1. Non-state actors as agents of foreign policy : the case of Kurdistan 2. Will the United States ever support Kurdish independence? 3. U.S. foreign policy towards the Kurdish movement under Obama and Trump U.S. foreign policy and the Kurdistan region 4. U.S. foreign policy, Kirkuk, and the Kurds in post-war Iraq : business as usual 5. From aid to oil : the KRG's dependent economy 6. Trump's foreign policy toward the Kurds 7. The Kurds' trump card Kurdish lobbying, para-diplomacy and Rojava 8. Kurdish lobbying and political activism in the United States 9. From limited partnership to strategic alliance : the emerging significance of Kurdish para-diplomacy in U.S. foreign policy 10. "Operation Olive Branch" : did the U.S. change its strategy toward the YPG? 11. Imperialism, revolution, and the desire to lecture the Kurds : how should we (not) analyze U.S.-Kurdish relations ContributorsIndex