Tayyar.

IQ flag Iraq party

Kurdistan Democratic Party

الحزب الديمقراطي الكردستاني

Iraqi Kurdish nationalist party led by the Barzani family. Dominant force in Erbil-based Kurdistan Regional Government.

Family
nationalist ethnic
Standing
Coalition (major)
Review
Verified
Founded
1946
Current leader
Masoud Barzani (President of KDP)
Founders
Mustafa Barzani

Position — compass as of 2026-06-10

Economic
+4.0 market-leaning
Social
-3.0 authority-leaning
Quadrant
authoritarian market

First-pass hand-coded estimate; pending second-pass external review. See methodology for the rubric.

In Iraq
-10 -10 -5 -5 5 5 10 10 Libertarian · Statist Libertarian · Market Authority · Statist Authority · Market 2 parties 3 parties islamist-shia centroid · 2 parties ← Statist Market → Libertarian ↑ ↓ Authority Social ↕ Economic ↔ Kurdistan Democratic Party (IQ) · in government · Economic +4.0, Social -3.0 IQ Kurdistan Democratic Party National Wisdom Movement (IQ) · in government · Economic +1.0, Social -4.0 IQ National Wisdom Movement State of Law Coalition (IQ) · in government · Economic -3.5, Social -6.0 IQ State of Law Coalition Sairoon Alliance (IQ) · Economic -2.0, Social -6.0 IQ Sairoon Alliance Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (IQ) · in government · Economic +2.0, Social -2.0 IQ Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
Among nationalist ethnic parties · 4
-10 -10 -5 -5 5 5 10 10 Libertarian · Statist Libertarian · Market Authority · Statist Authority · Market 1 parties 1 parties 2 parties nationalist-ethnic centroid · 4 parties ← Statist Market → Libertarian ↑ ↓ Authority Social ↕ Economic ↔ Yisrael Beiteinu (IL) · Economic +6.0, Social +4.0 Yisrael Beiteinu Ta'al (IL) · Economic -3.0, Social +4.0 Ta'al Kurdistan Democratic Party (IQ) · in government · Economic +4.0, Social -3.0 Kurdistan Democratic Party Likud (IL) · in government · Economic +6.0, Social -2.0 Likud
In the region · 77
-10 -10 -5 -5 5 5 10 10 Libertarian · Statist Libertarian · Market Authority · Statist Authority · Market 20 parties 11 parties 19 parties 27 parties secular-liberal centroid · 12 parties religious-jewish centroid · 5 parties leftist-socdem centroid · 7 parties islamist-sunni-electoral centroid · 11 parties nationalist-arab centroid · 14 parties leftist-communist centroid · 12 parties nationalist-ethnic centroid · 4 parties islamist-shia centroid · 5 parties religious-christian centroid · 2 parties islamist-militant centroid · 3 parties islamist-salafi centroid · 2 parties ← Statist Market → Libertarian ↑ ↓ Authority Social ↕ Economic ↔ New Wafd Party (EG) · Economic +5.0, Social +3.0 New Wafd Party Religious Zionism Party (IL) · in government · Economic +3.5, Social -8.0 Religious Zionism Party Shas (IL) · in government · Economic -5.0, Social -8.5 Shas Socialist Forces Front (DZ) · Economic -4.0, Social +4.0 Socialist Forces Front Socialist Union of Popular Forces (MA) · Economic -4.0, Social +4.0 Socialist Union of Popular Forces New Hope (IL) · in government · Economic +5.5, Social +2.0 New Hope Noam (IL) · in government · Economic +1.0, Social -9.0 Noam Ennahda (TN) · Economic +2.0, Social -5.0 Ennahda Southern Transitional Council (YE) · in government · Economic +3.5, Social -2.0 Southern Transitional Council Sudanese Communist Party (SD) · Economic -8.0, Social +6.0 Sudanese Communist Party Syrian National Coalition (SY) · Economic +5.0, Social +1.0 Syrian National Coalition Yisrael Beiteinu (IL) · Economic +6.0, Social +4.0 Yisrael Beiteinu Ta'al (IL) · Economic -3.0, Social +4.0 Ta'al National Unity (IL) · Economic +3.0, Social +4.0 National Unity Free Egyptians Party (EG) · Economic +8.0, Social +5.5 Free Egyptians Party Meretz (IL) · Economic -3.0, Social +6.0 Meretz Tunisian Workers Party (TN) · Economic -9.0, Social +5.0 Tunisian Workers Party Workers' Party (DZ) · Economic -9.0, Social +3.5 Workers' Party Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Islah) (YE) · in government · Economic +2.5, Social -7.0 Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Islah) Yemeni Socialist Party (YE) · Economic -6.0, Social +5.0 Yemeni Socialist Party People's Movement (TN) · Economic -6.0, Social +1.0 People's Movement Amal Movement (LB) · in government · Economic -3.5, Social -6.0 Amal Movement Ansar Allah (Houthis) (YE) · in government · Economic -6.0, Social -8.0 Ansar Allah (Houthis) Ba'ath Party (Syria) (SY) · dissolved · Economic -6.5, Social -0.5 Ba'ath Party (Syria) Democratic Unionist Party (SD) · Economic +2.5, Social -4.0 Democratic Unionist Party El Insaf (Equity Party) (MR) · in government · Economic +2.8, Social -6.0 El Insaf (Equity Party) Fatah (PS) · in government · Economic +1.5, Social -1.5 Fatah Free Patriotic Movement (LB) · in government · Economic +2.0, Social -2.0 Free Patriotic Movement Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (SY) · in government · Economic +2.5, Social -8.0 Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Islamic Salvation Front (DZ) · outlawed · Economic -3.0, Social -9.0 Islamic Salvation Front Israeli Labor Party (IL) · Economic -3.0, Social +5.8 Israeli Labor Party Movement of Society for Peace (DZ) · Economic +0.0, Social -7.0 Movement of Society for Peace Justice and Construction Party (LY) · Economic +0.0, Social -6.5 Justice and Construction Party Authenticity and Modernity Party (MA) · in government · Economic +5.0, Social +4.0 Authenticity and Modernity Party Istiqlal Party (MA) · in government · Economic +2.0, Social -4.0 Istiqlal Party National Umma Party (SD) · Economic +2.0, Social -3.0 National Umma Party Hadash-Ta'al (IL) · Economic -6.0, Social +6.0 Hadash-Ta'al Hamas (PS) · in government · Economic -3.0, Social -8.0 Hamas Kurdistan Democratic Party (IQ) · in government · Economic +4.0, Social -3.0 Kurdistan Democratic Party Likud (IL) · in government · Economic +6.0, Social -2.0 Likud National Liberation Front (DZ) · in government · Economic -5.0, Social -3.0 National Liberation Front National Rally for Reform and Development (Tewassoul) (MR) · Economic -1.0, Social -8.0 National Rally for Reform and Development (Tewassoul) Long Live Tunisia (TN) · Economic +6.0, Social +4.0 Long Live Tunisia National Rally of Independents (MA) · in government · Economic +8.0, Social +3.0 National Rally of Independents National Forces Alliance (LY) · Economic +6.0, Social +3.0 National Forces Alliance National Wisdom Movement (IQ) · in government · Economic +1.0, Social -4.0 National Wisdom Movement Reform Party (JO) · Economic +2.5, Social -2.0 Reform Party Otzma Yehudit (IL) · in government · Economic +2.0, Social -8.0 Otzma Yehudit Mubadara (PS) · Economic -0.5, Social +4.5 Mubadara Northern Islamic Movement (IL) · outlawed · Economic -3.0, Social -7.0 Northern Islamic Movement Islamic Action Front (JO) · Economic -1.0, Social -8.0 Islamic Action Front Al-Menbar Islamic Society (BH) · Economic +3.0, Social -7.5 Al-Menbar Islamic Society Hezbollah (LB) · in government · Economic -5.0, Social -8.0 Hezbollah Jordanian Communist Party (JO) · Economic -9.0, Social +5.5 Jordanian Communist Party Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society (BH) · dissolved · Economic -2.0, Social -6.0 Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society State of Law Coalition (IQ) · in government · Economic -3.5, Social -6.0 State of Law Coalition Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PS) · Economic -4.0, Social -9.0 Palestinian Islamic Jihad Nour Party (EG) · Economic +2.5, Social -9.0 Nour Party Islamic Asalah Society (BH) · in government · Economic +3.0, Social -9.0 Islamic Asalah Society United Torah Judaism (IL) · in government · Economic -5.0, Social -9.0 United Torah Judaism Lebanese Forces (LB) · Economic +5.0, Social -1.0 Lebanese Forces Mostaqbal Watan (EG) · in government · Economic +3.0, Social -4.0 Mostaqbal Watan Sairoon Alliance (IQ) · Economic -2.0, Social -6.0 Sairoon Alliance Democratic National Rally (DZ) · in government · Economic -2.0, Social -4.0 Democratic National Rally National Charter Party (JO) · in government · Economic +3.5, Social -3.0 National Charter Party General People's Congress (YE) · Economic -2.0, Social -4.0 General People's Congress Free Destourian Party (TN) · Economic +1.0, Social -1.0 Free Destourian Party PFLP (PS) · Economic -9.0, Social +4.0 PFLP Tagammu Party (EG) · Economic -7.0, Social +4.0 Tagammu Party Hadash (IL) · Economic -8.0, Social +6.5 Hadash Union of Forces of Progress (MR) · Economic -5.5, Social +4.0 Union of Forces of Progress DFLP (PS) · Economic -8.0, Social +4.5 DFLP Egyptian Social Democratic Party (EG) · Economic -2.5, Social +5.0 Egyptian Social Democratic Party Palestinian People's Party (PS) · Economic -8.0, Social +5.0 Palestinian People's Party Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (IQ) · in government · Economic +2.0, Social -2.0 Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Ra'am (United Arab List) (IL) · Economic -2.0, Social -6.0 Ra'am (United Arab List) Yesh Atid (IL) · Economic +4.0, Social +7.0 Yesh Atid

Across the dataset

Open full comparison →

Nearest

Closest by average Euclidean distance across all axes.

  1. Patriotic Union of Kurdistan IQ Δ 1.90 vs
  2. Lebanese Forces LB Δ 3.67 vs
  3. Southern Transitional Council YE Δ 3.95 vs
  4. Free Patriotic Movement LB Δ 4.77 vs

Most divergent

Farthest by the same metric. Useful for "anti-axis" framing.

  1. Ansar Allah (Houthis) YE Δ 11.57 vs
  2. Islamic Salvation Front DZ Δ 11.44 vs
  3. Palestinian Islamic Jihad PS Δ 11.42 vs
  4. Tunisian Workers Party TN Δ 11.12 vs

Position — all axes

Economic → Market Social → Libertarian State & religion → Secular state Liberal democracy → Strong commitment West alignment → Pro-Western Regional stance → Stability/normalization Palestinian question → Pro-Palestinian rights Civil liberties → Expand Regime stance → pro-regime Pan-Arab vs particularist → pan-Arab Centralism vs federalism → federalist Traditionalism vs modernization → modernizing Gender equality → Gender equality Iran posture → Pro-Iran / aligned Press freedom → Free press Sectarian power-sharing → Post-sectarian / civic state
Kurdistan Democratic Party Iraq mean
Economic
+4.0
Statist ← → Market
Social
-3.0
Authority ← → Libertarian
State & religion
+4.0
Religious state ← → Secular state
Liberal democracy
-3.5
Weak/anti ← → Strong commitment
West alignment
+8.0
Anti-Western ← → Pro-Western
Regional stance
+5.5
Resistance/maximalist ← → Stability/normalization
Palestinian question
+2.5
Opposed ← → Pro-Palestinian rights
Civil liberties
-3.0
Restrict ← → Expand
Regime stance
+5.5
anti-regime ← → pro-regime
Pan-Arab vs particularist
-9.0
particularist ← → pan-Arab
Centralism vs federalism
+9.5
centralist ← → federalist
Traditionalism vs modernization
+4.0
traditionalist ← → modernizing
Gender equality
—
Patriarchal traditionalism ← → Gender equality
Iran posture
—
Anti-Iran / adversarial ← → Pro-Iran / aligned
Press freedom
—
State-controlled press ← → Free press
Sectarian power-sharing
-6.0
Consociational / quota system ← → Post-sectarian / civic state

Members & affiliated figures

Politicians currently identified with this party — leaders, ministers, MPs, and other active figures. All affiliated politicians →

Recent events

Political events involving this party — formations, mergers, leadership changes, designation shifts. All events at /pulse →

  • Confirmed Leader changed June 2019

    Barzani family consolidates KRG: Nechirvan president, Masrour PM

    After Masoud Barzani's post-referendum resignation, the KDP installed his nephew Nechirvan Barzani as President of the Kurdistan Region (taking office June 2019) and his son Masrour Barzani as prime minister (sworn in July 2019), cementing the family's grip on both top offices. The arrangement steered the KRG through chronic budget and oil-export disputes with Baghdad.

  • Confirmed Election held September 25, 2017

    Kurdish independence referendum

    Iraqi Kurdistan votes 92.7% in favour of independence. Baghdad rejects the result; within weeks, federal forces retake Kirkuk and most disputed territories, ending KRG's post-2003 territorial expansion.

  • Confirmed Other September 25, 2017

    KRG independence referendum backfires, costing Kurdistan Kirkuk

    On 25 September 2017 the Kurdistan Regional Government held an independence referendum in which over 93% voted to secede. Within the ruling KDP, security chief Masrour Barzani backed the vote while then-PM Nechirvan Barzani and the politburo were wary. Baghdad responded with a military push that retook Kirkuk and ~40% of KRG-held territory, and President Masoud Barzani resigned — a major miscalculation that set back Kurdish self-rule.

Source documents

Texts the scoring pipeline reads — manifestos, speeches, platforms. Each document's verbatim content backs the position score above; the model cites specific phrases from these texts when scoring. All documents →

Sources

Per-field citations for the verified claims above. Other fields (notably the compass scores) remain hand-coded priors and are marked unverified until they pass the methodology pipeline — see methodology.

How to cite

Each record carries a retrieval date because the dataset is live — individual entries update as verification deepens. Use the per-record citation when referencing this specific profile; use the dataset citation below when referencing the project as a whole.

In-text: (Gara, 2026)

Per-record citation

APA 7Reference list · academic default 
Gara, T. (2026). Kurdistan Democratic Party [Party profile]. Tayyar: A MENA political-position dataset. Retrieved August 5, 2026, from https://tarekgara.com/tayyar/p/kdp
Chicago author-dateCommon in political-science journals 
Gara, Tarek. 2026. "Kurdistan Democratic Party." Party profile, Tayyar: A MENA political-position dataset. Accessed August 5, 2026. https://tarekgara.com/tayyar/p/kdp.
BibTeXFor LaTeX / Zotero / reference managers 
@misc{tayyar-kdp,
  title     = {{Kurdistan Democratic Party}},
  author    = {Gara, Tarek},
  year      = {2026},
  publisher = {Tayyar: A MENA political-position dataset},
  type      = {Party profile},
  url       = {https://tarekgara.com/tayyar/p/kdp},
  urldate   = {2026-08-05},
  note      = {First-pass entry; second-pass external review planned before publication.}
}

Dataset / working-paper citation

If you're citing Tayyar as a project rather than this individual record.

APA 7Preprint 
Gara, T. (2026). Tayyar: A MENA political-position dataset [Preprint]. Retrieved August 5, 2026, from https://tarekgara.com/tayyar/paper
BibTeXPreprint 
@unpublished{tayyar-preprint,
  title  = {{Tayyar: A MENA political-position dataset}},
  author = {Gara, Tarek},
  year   = {2026},
  type   = {Preprint},
  url    = {https://tarekgara.com/tayyar/paper},
  urldate = {2026-08-05},
  note   = {Living document, regenerated from the live dataset on page load.}
}

First-pass entry; second-pass external review planned before publication.