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Iraq’s political players
The Case of Iraq
Map of Iraq
Background on Iraq:Four Points To Remember
Iraq did not exist as a state prior to 1921.• Created from 3 Ottoman provinces of Mosul, Baghdad, & Basra
Diverse Population• Religious divisions: Sunnis, Shiites (& Christians)• Ethno-linguistic divisions: Arabs, Kurds• Population: 60% Shiite Arab; 15% Sunni Arab; 20 % Kurd (mostly
Sunnis)• Urban-Rural divisions
British invasion and colonial administration• Nov 1914 British invasion
Imported monarchy • 1921 Faisal from Arabia becomes king. Iraq gains formal independence in
1932.
Centralizing State vs Established social elites: Iraq as a
British-allied constitutional
monarchy, 1921-1936
Iraqi Politics, Phase 1
Formal Institutions of the State
King (a new institution)Supreme head of state
Could open & dissolve Parliament
Confirms laws
Selects PM
Could grant pardons, issue special ordinances
ParliamentShares legislative power with the king
Appointed Senate & elected chamber of deputies
Faisal I, 1st king of Iraq
Photos from Iraqipages.com
Faisal’s goals….SurvivalGradual eradication of British influence in IraqCreation of a national state
Creation of national army • Conscription
Mass education
And challengers…British (wanted to maintain power)Kurds (opposed Arab nationalism) Shiite Arabs (opposed educational reforms & exclusion from government)Tribal leaders (opposed efforts to redistribute land and erode their power base)The “masses” (opposed conscription, etc.)
In 1930s, at least 80 percent of Iraq’s population was rural
Effects of British colonialism on Iraqi political structures?
Perpetuation of Sunni Arab political dominance
Re-empowerment of the tribes in rural areas
Reinforced major schisms in Iraqi society
Major players in Iraqi Politics,1921-1936
British
Kurds
Tribal leaders &
Landlords
Rural Shiites
Monarchy
&
Prime Ministry
Results: Catch 22sFledgling sense of Iraqi national identity but “two Iraqs” and no real independenceKing wants independence but relies on British to maintain power British support undermines state legitimacy but necessary for maintaining powerCentralization of power in Baghdad but British support for tribes to create mass support, land reform needed, but narrow base of state support requires some aid from tribal leaders
Iraqi Politics, Phase II:
The rise of the military & the creation of the Iraqi Republic (1936-1968)
1958 RevolutionViolent overthrow of the monarchyCreation of the Republic of Iraq
Ceremonial presidentQasim as PM, commander in chief, minister of defense
Reform & Dictatorship under President Abd al-Karim Qasim
Purging of western advisors, efforts to solve Kurdish problem, land reform, public welfare projectsCentralization of authority
Abd al Karim Qasim, President of Iraq, 1958-1963
Results:Violence becomes entrenched part of Iraqi political culture
Army influence over politics prevents civilian access, impedes societal coalition building
• Between 1958 and 1968 more than 10 coups and attempted coups, two armed rebellions, semi-continuous civil war against Kurds.
• 25-35% of all cabinet posts held by military men• Three presidents, most PMs, and almost all ministers of
interior and defense were ex-military men
Newly independent foreign policySome land reforms & sporadic inclusion of Shiites & Kurds into the political process
Major Players in Iraqi Politics, 1936-1968
Egypt &Syria
Baath Party
Iraqi Communist
Party British
(until 1958)
Landlords
Prime
Ministry/monarchy
(until 1958)
Shiites
Kurds
Iraqi
Army
Phase IIISTATE OVER
SOCIETY
Iraq as a One Party State: The Baath Party and the
Authoritarian Rule of Saddam Hussein, 1968-2003
Two coups: 1963 and 19681963: Baath Party + Military (Arif)
Baath forced out of the new govt after the coup
1968: Baath Party coupReasons for coups:
pan-Arabism vs Iraqi nationalismPatronage
• Those who dominate the state dominate access to resources
Military seeks to maintain control over political processLack of leadership linked to preoccupation with managing the dispersal of the state’s resources
The rise and rule of Saddam Hussein
Biography:DOB: 04/28/37 in Tikrit, 100 m. north of BaghdadPeasant family with influential army relatives
• most prominent: Uncle Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr; a leader of the 1963 coup and later PM.
Tribal society: al-Bejat clan, Albu Nasir Tribe High school in Baghdad; joined Baath Party when 20, aided in failed assassination of Qasim in Oct. 1959.
Saddam Hussein’s identity card, when he was 10 years old.
Photo: PBS Frontline website
After 1963 coup becomes vice chair of the main decision making body for the Baath regime. Also in charge of the security services.
Becomes president in 1979 when al-Bakr was persuaded to step down. Above left, SH in Cairo
after failed ’59 coup; above, SH at 17.
Resistance
Kurds – open war 1970-1975, with backing of Iran Shiites- formation of secret, clerically led groupsantigovernment demonstrations in the late 1970s; arrest and execution of prominent Shiite leaders
Autocracy
How Saddam Hussein & the Baath maintained power, 1968-1991
1. Oil
Nationalization of the Iraq Petroleum Company in 1972 + OPEC oil embargo and hike in prices in 1973 = skyrocketing oil revenues for Baath use
1968 oil revenues: $476 million; 1980- $26 billion
In 1979 Iraq’s oil production second only to Saudi Arabia’s in oil-producing states of the Persian Gulf.
(How SH maintained power): 2. Social welfare
reduction of taxesSubsidies for basic foodFree, high quality health careNo university tuition feesImprovements in status of women (In ’82 more than 30 % univ. students were female)Extensive literacy campaigns
new highway systems & better infrastructureSubsidies of ordinary consumption itemsLand ownerships & no taxes for many Shiite peasants living in the southExtensive reforms in the countryside; new land distributed to farmers
between 1970 and 1982 264,400 farmers received grants of land.
Saddam Hussein visiting homes, 1980s
(How SH maintained power)3. Fear & terror
Wholesale political repression and persecution of all potential dissidents
• Imprisonment, extrajudicial executions• Death sentences including for non-violent offenses, in 1998 and 1999
hundreds of prisoners summarily executed in a “jail cleaning” program• Public hangings and public executions.
Creation of multiple, alternative sets of internal security organizations
• State internal security, military intelligence, party intelligence• Massive surveillance and informant system
Forced internal migration to resettle restive areas (especially Kurds and Shiite Marsh Arabs)
(How SH maintained power)4. Cult of Personality
1989 Victory
Arch
(How SH maintained power)5. War
Iran-Iraq War 1980-1989longest conventional war of the 20th centuryCost: 100-000 200,000 Iraqis dead, 400,000 wounded, 70,000 prisoners.
$25 billion debt to Saudis, $10 billion to Kuwait; $40 billion to the US, Europe and rest of the world.
Results: • solidified sentiments of Iraqi national identity among the bulk of
the population. • Because of concern over Shiite loyalty SH brought greater
numbers of Shiites into the regime as well as repressing any political activity.
• Islamicization of the regime
(More results of Iran-Iraq War)armed forces grew from 190,000 to over 1 million; Republican Guard grows from 1 to 37 brigades.
Iraq becomes major regional military power
Militarization of society as armed forces became most important part of the state.
Gulf War (1990-1991)After war, SH considerably weaker, forced to rely more on tribes to maintain authority
UN sanctions also help him maintain power
Major Players in Iraqi politics, 1968-1991/2003
Army
Saddam Hussein & Tikriti tribes
Baath Party
Other tribes (after 1991)
Common themes?
Who has been in and who has been out? How have those that maintained power done it?