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

Faisal I, 1st king of Iraq

Photos from Iraqipages.com

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

How politics really worked: actual power

MonarchyInfighting = ineffective PM & Parliament

Tribal chiefsRe-empowered by Britain

BritainRetained military bases, control of Iraqi foreign policy, control over Iraq’s finances, advisorsHow did the British retain control?

• Divide and rule: country vs town; tribe vs king; tribe vs tribe

• Military force (especially air power)

“If the writ of King Faisal runs effectively throughout his kingdom it is entirely due to British aeroplanes. If the aeroplanes were removed tomorrow, the whole structure would invariably fall to pieces.”

- British Secretary of State report on Iraq, 1925

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)

Iraqi Politics, Phase II

Divisions within the stateThe fading monarchyRevolving Prime MinistryThe Rise of the Army

• Seven military coups 1936-1941

Expansion of political elites:The Iraqi Communist Party (1935)

• Only Iraqi political party with real grassroots organization

The Baath (Resurrection) Party (1952)

• ‘Unity, Freedom, Socialism”• Arab nationalist, secular, Arab

socialist, anti-imperialist, populist, revolutionary (not reformist)

Militarism & Political Violence

British occupy Iraq 1941

Increasing authoritarianism

Pan-Arabism vs the monarchy

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

1963 military coup (Baath & Army)

Qasim killed

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 RCC (main decisionmaking 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.

Points to note about S. Hussein:

Ruled through fear as well as charm and brilliant tactical maneuvering.  Was able to seize 4 main centers of power in Iraq- army, party, tribe, security services His rise highlights the paradox of Iraq politics: on the one hand, a huge and elaborate bureaucracy. On the other, real power centered on select few linked to SH through bonds of kinship or a history of personal trust.

Single-Party Oligarchy:

Baath consolidation of power, ’68-’79

Regime consolidation within the state

a. internal purging, sentencing and public executions of any suspected political dissidents.

Between 1968-1970, 86 “official” executions. Saddam Hussein and the “Night of Long Knives” (July 1979).

• Purging of Rev. Command Council of all possible challengers to SH. A quarter of the RCC’s membership (five out of 20) were tortured and murdered along with another 16 Baath leaders. Around 500 senior party members killed.

Army brought under Baath control new elevation of particular social groups

Tribes, Tikritis

Regime consolidation within society

a. Penetration of the Baath Party into all parts of social and political life- women’s groups, labor unions, student federations.  

b. Substantial economic and political reforms in the 1970s

1972 nationalization of the Iraqi Petroleum Company (consortium of several foreign-owned companies) VERY popular and soon began bringing the new regime significant new funds.

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

Baath propaganda clip on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkQXAxjlc8o&feature=related

(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?