Who are the Kurds? Is a future Kurdish state possible? Despite being more than 25 million strong, this Middle Eastern ethnic group has never had a country of its own. In this new series, we explore state-building efforts across the region and the implications of new alliances between Kurds and other actors in light of the fight against ISIS.

With a video explainer on the group's history, an in-depth feature from Michael Petrou on the state of affairs in Iraq, a field report from Emily Feldman in Turkey, an essay on unlikely alliances by John Mitton, a look at Kurdish female fighters from Marie Lamensch and an update from Evon Sworesho on minorities caught in the fault lines — this is The Making of Kurdistan.