http://www.mideasti.org/programs/programs_journal_resource_iraq.htm

Understanding Post-Saddam Iraq

A part of The Middle East Journal Resource Series

The Middle East Journal Resource Series offers compilations of Journal articles related to topics of interest in digital format.

Understanding Post-Saddam Iraq is on sale for $10 and contains articles that can not be found in digital format elsewhere. You may purchase CDs from The Middle East Journal Resource Series at the Middle East Institute's front desk or by contacting Lisa Barr at (202) 785-1141 ext. 200 or members@mideasti.org

Understanding Post-Saddam Iraq contains the following five Journal articles and book review and provides scholarly and in-depth background to the present reality in Iraq post-Saddam:

Blunder Books: Iraq Since Saddam
Book Review
Peter Slugett (Spring 2006)

Global Jihadism After the Iraq War
Thomas Hegghammer (Winter 2006)

How has the invasion of Iraq influenced global jihadist ideology? Based on primary sources in Arabic, this article highlights important ideological changes; Iraq is considered a crossroads in the global jihad against the “Crusaders.” New strategic dilemmas have caused divisions among militants, and Iraq’s attractiveness has undermined other battlefronts. A new “strategic studies” genre has emerged in jihadist literature. Countries in Europe and the Gulf are increasingly highlighted as enemies and potential targets.

Democratic Attitudes and Practices in Iraq, 1921-1958
Adeed Dawisha (Winter 2005)

The prevalent perception is that democracy is untenable in Iraq because, it is argued, the country has an authoritarian political culture and no history of democratic institutions. This article presents a counter-narrative that shows that Iraq and its people do not necessarily suffer from an immutable democratic deficit. Focusing on the 1921-1958 era, periods of democratic attitudes and practices are chronicled and traditions of political pluralism and experience with representative political institutions are demonstrated.

The United States and Shi‘ite Religious Factions in Postwar Iraq
Juan Cole (Autumn 2003)

In post-Saddam Husayn Iraq, Shi‘ite militias rapidly established their authority in East Baghdad and other urban neighborhoods of the south. Among the various groups which emerged, the Sadr Movement stands out as militant and cohesive. The sectarian, anti-American Sadrists wish to impose a puritanical, Khomeinist vision on Iraq. Their political influence is potentially much greater than their numbers. Incorporating them into a democratic Iraq while ensuring that they do not come to dominate it poses a sever challenge to the US Administration.

War and Occupation in Iraq: What Went Right? What Could Go Wrong?
Judith S. Yaphe (Summer 2003)

The US occupation of Iraq is not the first such occupation of that country. Although little remembered in the US, the British occupation of Iraq at the end of the First World War, and the uprising and Mandate period that followed, are still vividly recalled in Iraq. Although historical parallels are never exact, the British experience does contain some striking parallels with the initial US experience. This article examines lessons to be drawn from the British experience, as well as the question of how to avoid repeating some of the failures of that earlier effort.

Saddam Husayn and Civil-Military Relations in Iraq
Ahmed Hashim (Winter 2003)

This article addresses civil-military relations in Iraq under Saddam Husayn over the past thirty years. Historically, the Iraqi armed forces have intervened regularly in the political process of the country. This has been to the detriment of political stability, the ability of Iraq to play a role in regional politics and to emerge as a major military power. Saddam recognized this early on and implemented a series of stringent controls to bring the military to heel under civilian rule. But the military has continued to threaten his rule. At the present time, Iraq has come under immense pressure from the United States, which has threatened it with war to remove the regime. Is there any possibility that the military might intervene and remove Saddam itself and under what circumstances? How would a civilian government in a post-Saddam Iraq establish civilian control over the military?