172 McGee intrinsically linked with the institution of the nation-state and national sovereignty.’1 Itself a global problem, it has been widely acknowledged that statelessness can lead to or aggravate ‘associated’ secondary problems.2 In accepting this general understanding, the present paper seeks to challenge the corollary that acquisition of nationality necessarily brings a definitive end to the core and associated problems of statelessness. In doing so, it will address two alternative theoretical conceptions of statelessness, concisely manifest in the semantic distinction between a ‘stateless person’ and ‘stateless people’, and examine their empirical intersection in the case of Kurds in Syria.3 The first conception of statelessness emanates from the standard legalistic definition of a ‘stateless person,’ as expressed in international law and reiterated by UN literature and advocacy. Article 1 of the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons establishes a stateless individual as ‘a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law.’4 The second though sometimes overlapping notion of statelessness has been developed within the field of political science. While there is less scholarly consensus on the definition of a ‘stateless people’, Wolff’s explanation that it is ‘distinguished from other peoples in that it does not have its own state’ will be taken as the essence of this concept.5 1 Abbas Vali, ‘The Kurds and their “Others”: Fragmented Identity and Fragmented Politics’ (1998) 18 (2) Identity Politics and Global Economics 82. 2 The global nature of statelessness is noted by Laura Van Waas, ‘Nationality Matters: Statelessness Under International Law’ (2008) 29 School of Human Rights Research Series, 10 <http://arno.uvt.nl/show.cgi?fid=113179> accessed 17 July 2013; UNHCR, ‘Resolving Statelessness’ in The State of the World’s Refugees: In Search of Solidarity: A Synthesis’ (2012) 14 <www.unhcr.org/4fc5ceca9.html> accessed 13 September 2013. Further information on the problems ‘associated’ with statelessness is available via UNHCR Note on UNHCR and Statelessness Activities (EC/47/SC/CRP.31, 30 May 1997) <www.refworld.org/docid/3dd3a7627 .html> accessed 9 September 2013; UNHCR Nationality and Statelessness: A Handbook for Parliamentarians (2005). 3 In accordance with the explanation below, the plural form for each conception is ‘stateless persons’ and ‘stateless peoples’ respectively. 4 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (1954) <www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ stateless.htm> accessed 15 August 2013. 5 The literature frequently employs the synonyms ‘non-state nation’ and ‘non-state people.’ Stefan Wolff, ‘The relationships between states and non-state peoples: a comparative view of the Kurds in Iraq’ in Gareth Stansfield and Robert Lowe (eds), Kurdish Policy Imperative (Chatham House 2010). tilburg law review 19 (2014) 171-181