The Construction of the Phenomenon of Socio-Political Inequality in Kurdistan Province

This paper seeks to present elites' perceptions and experiences of socio-political inequality in Kurdistan Province and describe their perceptions of causal conditions, contextual conditions, intervening conditions, mechanisms, and consequences. This study collects qualitative data using a qualitative approach and grounded theory method as well as in-depth and semi-structured interview techniques. To this end, 20 Sunni Kurdish activists, including four groups of parliamentarians, managers, cultural activists, and faculty members, were interviewed using purposive sampling and theoretical saturation criteria. The results are analyzed and explained in three stages of open, axial, and selective coding using the Strauss-Corbin approach. Then, relying on the respondents' opinions, the six main categories of the research were extracted: Definition in 3 core categories and 9 subcategories, causal conditions in 3 core categories and 7 subcategories, basic conditions in 3 core categories and 10 subcategories, disturbance conditions in 2 core categories and 7 subcategories, the mechanism in 3 core categories and 7 subcategories, and the consequences in 3 core categories and 12 subcategories. Finally, a paradigmatic model is presented showing the effects of definition on causal, contextual and intervening conditions and the direct effect of causal conditions on inequality and the indirect effect of basic conditions and intervening conditions on causal conditions and mechanism and also the indirect effect of contextual and intervening conditions on socio-political inequality. The final results show that the phenomenon of socio-political inequality is not the product of Sunni Kurds in Kurdistan province, but it has been constructed based on the mentioned categories.