Iraq: Power and Society

Iraq: Power and Society

Derek Hopwood,
Habib Ishow,
Thomas Koszinowski

St. Antony’s College

Since its emergence in 1921 Iraq has proved to be fragile. Unbalanced political structures have caused bloody and semi-permanent confrontations between the central power, controlled principally by a minority group of Sunni Arabs and the other ethnic and religious groups (Shi'i, Kurds, Chaldeans, Turcomans and Iranians). Internally, violent struggles for power have pushed the regime towards dictatorship and systematic repression, moves which have been unfavourable for the development of the country. Internationally, Iraq's oil wealth has enabled it to become a military power and embark on the disastrous war against Iran 1980 - 88 and the invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Both military operations brought in their wake ruin and misery for Iraq and other countries in the region. The importance of Iraq is undeniable and this collective work brings together scholars in Britain. France and Germany who conceived the joint project of a conference to study the evolution of relations between society and political power in contemporary Iraq and the country's relations with other states in the region in the hope of giving readers a better understanding of contemporary Mesopotamia.

Derek Hopwood is a Lecturer in Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oxford, and Director of St Antony's College Middle East Center.

Habib Ishow is Chargee de Recherche at IREMAN in Aix-en-Provence.

Thomas Koszinowski is a Researcher at the Deutsches Orient-lnstitut in Hamburg.

Contents

Introduction / v
List of Contributors / viii

1. The formation of the new state and political aspects
Social Structures and the New State 1921-1958 / 1
Derek Hopwood

The Development of Internal Politics in Iraq from 1958 to the Present Day / 19
May Chartouni-Dubarry

Political Parties, Institutions and Administrative Structures / 37
Peter Heine

Liberation or Repression? Pan-Arab Nationalism and the Women’s Movement in Iraq / 51
Marion Farouk–Sluglett

Sunnis and Shi‘is Revisited: Sectarianism and Ethnicity in Authoritarian Iraq / 75
Peter Sluglett and Marion Farouk-Sluglett

The Iran-Iraq War and the Iraqi State / 91
Charles Tripp

2. Economic and Social Aspects

Iraq: Environmental, Resource and Development Issues / 117
Peter Beaumont

Iraq and its Oil: Sixty-five Years of Ambition and Frustration / 141
Michel Chatelus

The Development of Agrarian Policies since 1958 / 171
Habib Ishow

The Distribution of National Income in Iraq, with Particular Reference to the Development of Policies Applied by the State / 193
Aziz Alkazaz

Egyptian Migrant Labour in Iraq: Economic Expediency and Socio-political Reality / 257
Camillia Fawzi El-Solh

3. Foreign Relations

Iraq as a Regional Power / 283
Thomas Koszinowski

Relations between Iraq and Kuwait / 303
Habib Ishow

Iraq and Saudi Arabia: from Rivalry to Confrontation / 319
Andreas Rieck

Relations between Iraq and its Turkish Neighbour:
from Ideological to Geostrategic Constraints / 341
Elizabeth Picard

The Limits of Fertile Crescent Unity: Iraqi Policies towards Syria since 1945 / 357
Eberhard Kienle

Relations between Iraq and Iran / 381
Paul Balta

Index / 398

INTRODUCTION

Iraq: Power and Society

In the last quarter of the twentieth century, several Middle Eastern countries have occupied centre stage in international politics, and in particular Iraq.

On its creation in 1921 Iraq was given a political structure which proved to be fragile as it did not sufficiently take into account the different religious and ethnic groups which inhabited the country. These unbalanced political structures have caused bloody and semi-permanent confrontations between the central power, controlled principally by a group of Sunni Arabs (largely a minority in the country, fifteen to twenty per cent of the total population) and the other ethnic and religious groups (Shi‘i, Kurds, Chaldeans, Turcomans and Iranians).

These severe internal conflicts have created feelings of frustration and injustice among the major part of the population, particularly on the political, linguistic and cultural levels. Despite the frustration and discrimination caused by the state, the various ethnic and religious groups remain for the greater part attached to the concept of an Iraqi state, but they demand respect for their fundamental rights based on the principle of equality of all citizens in all fields.

Moreover, intolerance and violent struggles for power amongst the political forces have aggravated the internal situation and pushed the regime towards dictatorship and systematic repressive measures in government. This development also had unfavourable economic and social consequences for the development of the country.

However, thanks to its oil income Iraq, having become a military power, sought to impose its dominance in the region. To achieve this object it undertook a disastrous war against Iran 1980-88 and invaded Kuwait on 2 August 1990. These military operations brought in their wake ruin, misery and human dramas not only for Iraq but also for the other countries in the region.

The importance of Iraq is undeniable and as a country it has long interested specialists on the Middle East. Scholars in Britain, France and Germany conceived the joint project of a conference to study the evolution of relations between society and political power in contemporary Iraq in various domains, and the country’s relations with other states in the region. This collective work represents the fruits of their work which, it is hoped, will give readers a better understanding of the principal features of this contemporary Mesopotamia.

Habib Ishow
Aix-en-Provence, 1993

Social Structures and the New
State 1921-1958

Derek Hop wood

At the end of the First World War the Arab provinces of the defeated Ottoman Empire were facing an uncertain future. The world that had been familiar to them and with which they had learned to live during the previous four centuries had been shattered. A system of relationships had been established between ruler and ruled and amongst the ruled themselves, based largely on a common religion, age-old economic links and a mutually acknowledged hierarchy founded on learning, wealth or land, or on a hereditary position of leadership. The Sunni majority' enjoyed its status of being closest to the Sunni Ottoman lurks, the minorities had either acquired the wisdom of accepting their fate and blending into the majority or of choosing to dwell in remote fastness’s where they attempted to live their lives unhindered by outsiders.
Loyalties of the inhabitants of the Ottoman Arab provinces were felt toward the local area (village or larger), or to the community, religious or ethnic, which, although experienced locally, might spread over a wider range (for example the Islamic umma or the Greek Orthodox Church or the Kurdish people). Possibly they had a particular feeling of belonging to an empire which taxed them, sometimes conscripted them, and which defined their world view. Within this view among an educated minority there had been growing since the …

This chapter owes everything to work of other authors, particularly P. Sluglett Britain in Iraq 1914-1932 (London, 1976), M. Farouk-Sluglett and P. Sluglett Iraq since 1958, from revolution to dictatorship (London, 1987), R.A. Femea and W.R. Louis eds., The Iraqi Revolution of 1958, the old social classes revisited (London, 1991), H. Batatu, The old social classes and the revolutionary movements of Iraq (Princeton U.P, 1978) and S.H. Longrigg Iraq, 1900 to 1950, a political social, and economic history (London, 1953).

Derek Hopwood,
Habib Ishow,
Thomas Koszinowski

Iraq: Power and Society

St. Antony’s College

St. Antony’s College
Iraq: Power and Society
Edited by
Derek Hopwood
Habib Ishow
Thomas Koszinowski

Published for
St. Antony’s College, Oxford
by Ithaca Press, Reading
1993

Copyright © 1993 St. Antony’s College, Oxford

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First edition

ISBN 0 86372 172 9

Middle East Monographs Series Volume 29

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