Why didn't Iraqi Kurdistan declare independence?

In 2017, the Kurdish Region of Iraq (KRI) overwhelmingly voted to become an independent country. However, there was no declaration of independence. In this video, I explain why Iraqi Kurdistan didn't break away, despite clear support for statehood. Welcome to Independent Thinking. A channel dedicated to international relations, independence disputes, secession and the origins of countries. It is often said that the Kurds represent the largest ethnic group in the world without their own national state. Despite having come close to statehood in the aftermath of the First World War, to this day there is no independent Kurdistan. However, in 2017, it looked as if the Iraqi Kurds were on the verge of declaring independence. A referendum held in the autonomous Kurdish Region of Iraq had shown overwhelming support for breaking away and establishing an independent Kurdish state. However, within weeks, the result of the vote had been frozen. In this video, I explore the main reasons why the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) decided to back down and why to this day there is no independent Kurdish state.