Post-Saddam Iraq New Realities, Old Identities, Changing Patterns

by Cohen, Amnon; Efrati, Noga

• ISBN13: 9781845194673
• ISBN10: 1845194675
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-03-29
• Publisher: Liverpool University Press

Summary

This is the first comprehensive attempt to describe and analyse the major developments in Iraq from the US-led invasion until 2010. It is the product of specialists in the history of Iraq, the Arab and Muslim world, with a wide range of views of Iraq's past and present. The main focus is the internal political scene -- increasingly developing along ethnic-sectarian and religious lines (Shi'is and Sunnis, Kurds and Arabs) -- discussed in the context of re-emerging Iraqi national identity. Other major developments, not unrelated to politics, are also addressed: women's rights and economic trends. The book provides an important external, international dimension to Iraq's post-war development through discussion of the central role played by the Iranian regime and its deep and multi-faceted involvement in the Iraqi internal scene; the ambivalent relations with Turkey, which concurrently serves as the main terrestrial channel of trade and economic ties with the world; and Iraq's persisting marginal position in the affairs of the Arab world. The political developments within Iraq are discussed up to the most recent events (December 2010), when a new government was set up. It remains to be seen whether the former centralist policies of the prime minister will prevail in a state which is gradually disposing of the American military presence, assuming command over its unsolved problems of security and daily life as well as of its future stability.

Author Biography

Amnon Cohen is Eliahu Elath Professor(emeritus) of the History of the Muslim Peoples at the Hebrew university of Jerusalem, Israel. Noga Efrati is a Research Fellow at the Harry S.Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University of Jersalem.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
The Constitutional Setting	p. 7
The Shi'is in Post-Saddam Iraq: A Common Political Front, but Different Tactics?	p. 53
Kurdish Politics and the Shaping of Post-Saddam Iraq	p. 104
Sunni Discontent in Iraq: An Historical Perspective	p. 129
Economic Policy in Iraq, 2003-2009	p. 146
Back to Square One: Women's Rights in Post-Invasion Iraq	p. 171
Grand Ayatollah 'Ali al-Sistani: Ideology, Activities, Proselytizing, Polemics	p. 187
Iran in Iraq: Between Opportunity and Threat	p. 212
Neighbor to the World's Superpower: Turkey's Challenge in Northern Iraq	p. 243
Iraq and the Arab System since the 2003 War: A Persistent Marginality	p. 266
Conclusion	p. 295
Editors and Contributors	p. 298
Consolidated Bibliography	p. 301
Index	p. 312
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