Iraq

A Theoretical Evaluation of Different Faces of Power: US-Turkey Relations Towards Iraq

by Uluslararası İlişkiler

Ahmet Sözen, "A Theoretical Evaluation of Different Faces of Power: US-Turkey Relations Towards Iraq", Uluslararası İlişkiler, Cilt 6, Sayı 24 (Kış), 2009

Bu makalede bir lider(patron/hegemon) ülke tarafından lider-olmayan (müşteri) bir ülkeyi kendi siyaseti doğrultusunda... more Bu makalede bir lider(patron/hegemon) ülke tarafından lider-olmayan (müşteri) bir ülkeyi kendi siyaseti doğrultusunda işbirliğine çekme yönünde gücün farklı formlarda (düzeylerde) nasıl kullanıldığı araştırılmaktadır. Literatürde işbirliği üzerine yazılmış eserler çoğunluğu siyasetin doğrudan gözlemlenebildiği pazarlık gücü üzerinde yoğunlaşmaktadır. Bu makale lider-olmayan bir ülke olan Türkiye ile lider ülke olan Amerika arasındaki Körfez Krizi (1990) ve Irak Savaşı (2003) dönemlerindeki ilişkilerinin tam olarak anlaşılmasında pazarlık gücü modelinin yeterli olmadığını göstermektedir. Bu makalede Karause’un üç düzeyli güç modelinin Türkiye ve Amerika Birleşik Devletleri arasındaki güç ilişkisini en kapsamlı şekilde anlamak ve açıklamak için çok daha iyi bir model olduğu iddia edilmektedir.

Displacement and statecraft in Iraq: Recent trends, older roots.

by Ali Ali

Published in the International Journal of Contemporary Iraqi Studies Volume 5 Issue 2 (2011).

This article discusses the relationship between state formation and refugees, linking statecraft - the 'art' of state... more This article discusses the relationship between state formation and refugees, linking statecraft - the 'art' of state building - and displacement in post-2003 Iraq. It uses the testimonies of displaced Iraqis now living in Syria to show how parties and militias in Iraq targeted specific groups, including religious minorities such as the Mandaeans. They created new forms of exclusion, forcing some communities to flee. In some cases, they compelled people to leave abruptly; in others, hostile forces gradually encroached upon the target groups. Some organizations had their origins in pre-2003 dynamics and were not the first in Iraq to use displacement as a means to implement a political design.

The Impact of the Iraq Communication of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on War Crimes Admissibility and the Interests of Victims

by Melanie O'Brien

Published in University College Dublin Law Review, 2007 Symposium Edition

In 2006 the Prosecutor released two statements addressing
communications received by his Office concerning... more In 2006 the Prosecutor released two statements addressing
communications received by his Office concerning allegations of crimes committed in Venezuela and Iraq. The February 2006 communication of the Prosecutor discusses allegations received by the Office of the Prosecutor concerning genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Iraq. This Article will address the Prosecutor's decision concerning these alleged war crimes; in particular, allegations concerning wilful killing or inhuman treatment of civilians. The crimes alleged include  mistreatment of prisoners, and multiple cases of unlawful
executions. The Prosecutor decided not to initiate an investigation into the alleged war crimes. Although he ultimately had reason to decide this way under the principle of complementarity, this Article will contend that the reasoning used in the decision was flawed, and many issues that should have been considered were not. Issues not addressed include the interests of victims, the interests of justice, and a broad consideration of the gravity of the alleged offences. The absence of such considerations from the communication has produced a dubious precedent in decisions concerning war crimes admissibility and the interests of victims in proceedings before the Court. Such elements should not be by-passed in future considerations by the Prosecutor of whether to initiate an
investigation.

L'accès à l'information et les méthodes de travail d'un lettré bagdadien du Ve/XIe siècle / Access to information and methods of work of a 5th/11th century Baghdadi scholar

by Vanessa Van Renterghem

This article focuses on information sources and work methods of Arab medieval historians, through examining the... more This article focuses on information sources and work methods of Arab medieval historians, through examining the original example of a Hanbali Baghdadian scholar, Ibn al-Bannā’ (d. 471 h./1079 CE). This author left some personal notes probably meant to be later used for historiographical writing. In most case, Ibn al-Bannā’ had been the witness of the actor of the events he reports on; in others, travelers (merchants and scholars) were the source of information. They were using oral as much as written transmission, the written documents being mainly merchant letters brought by caravans. Then the news would be collected and afterwards spread in Baghdad by some riche Hanbali merchants and patrons. Public rumor would also spread important political or military news. The information collected by Ibn al-Bannā’ was nevertheless mainly local in nature, concerning Baghdad, Iraq, or rarely the neighboring areas (Syria, Palestine, Ġazīra, Iran, Arabia) but never other parts of the world. Finally, the author’s sociability networks appear as essential in collecting information.
Keywords: Baghdad, information, chronicles, history, Arab historians, rumor, merchant letters, Hanbalism, Hanbalis, Ibn al-Bannâ’, Ibn al-Bannā’, networks, sociability.

The Other Iraq: Exploring Iraqi Kurdistan

by Peter Kabachnik

Co-authored with Jeremy Jimenez. 2012. “The Other Iraq: Exploring Iraqi Kurdistan.” FOCUS on Geography. 55 (2): 31-40.

Destroying the Symbols of Baathist Iraq

by Benjamin Isakhan

Since the invasion of Iraq by coalition forces in 2003, the Iraqi people have not only suffered a devastating death toll and witnessed the erosion of every aspect of their civil infrastructure, they have also endured an extraordinary period of cultural and historical destruction. This began during the battle phase of the war, which saw untold degrees of “collateral damage” done to sensitive historic and cultural sites across the nation. This was followed, in the very earliest days of the now more than seven year occupation, by a period of looting and arson in which many cultural and historical sites were destroyed. Key institutions such as the Iraq National Museum (INM) and the Iraq National Library and Archive (INLA) were targeted, as well as other sites like the Bayt Al-Hikma and the Al-Awfaq libraries, Iraq’s Museum of Modern Art, an Abbasid-era palace, an Ottoman-era mosque and the Hashemite Parliament House. In addition, many Iraqi civilians and foreigners have become involved in highly co-ordinated black market operations that systematically loot sensitive archaeological sites across Iraq and smuggle the antiquities out of the country and on to the highly lucrative international black market. The ongoing hostility between varying factions within Iraq has also had ruinous consequences for Iraq’s cultural heritage with artefacts, symbols and monuments so often caught in the crossfire or deliberately targeted by opposing ethno-religious sectarian groups.

None of this tragic tale will come as a surprise to members of TAARII and regular readers of this publication, many of whom are involved in documenting and analysing the ongoing cultural and historical destruction of Iraq. By now a whole host of scholarly studies exists on this topic including the work of leading Iraqi and international scholars, archaeologists, historians, cultural and heritage workers, diplomats, government officials and military officers.  What is curiously absent from the existing literature on the cultural and historical destruction of Iraq, however, is the contemporaneous program to symbolically De-Baathify the nation in which key monuments, state buildings, murals and statues have been decimated or destroyed. Indeed, while the consequences of what might be called the “bureaucratic” or “militaristic” dimensions of Iraq’s De-Baathification have been discussed in much of the literature, the symbolic dimension of De-Baathification and its consequences for national identity and social cohesion has remained an under studied and underappreciated factor.

Isakhan, B. (2010). Destroying the Symbols of Baathist Iraq. The American Academic Research Institute in Iraq (TAARII)... more Isakhan, B. (2010). Destroying the Symbols of Baathist Iraq. The American Academic Research Institute in Iraq (TAARII) Newsletter, 5(2), 1-5.

Qermez Dere and the Early Aceramic Neolithic of N. Iraq

by Alison Betts

“Abu Ghraib in the Art of Ayad Alkadhi”.

by Safdar Ahmed

Published in Third Text: Critical Perspectives on Contemporary Art and Culture, Vol. 25, Issue 3, May 2011, 1-10.

The Iraqi Mandate: An Examination of the Relationship between Britain and Iraq In the Aftermath of the First World War

by Victoria Whitecotton

HIST351 History of Iraq Class Research Paper

SUBARTU: The Tell Nader and Tell Baqrta Project in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq: Preliminary Report of the 2011 Season.

by Konstantinos Kopanias

Submitted for publication in "Subartu Journal, Archaeology, Assyriology, Heritage of Kurdistan and Mesopotamia" (April 2012).

Co-authored with Claudia BEUGER, Tristan CARTER, Sherry FOX,
Angelos HADJIKOUMIS, Georgia KOURTESSI-PHILIPPAKIS,
Alexandra LIVARDA, John MACGINNIS

Preliminary Report of the Tell Nader and Tell Baqrta Project in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq: Season 2011 Preliminary Report of the Tell Nader and Tell Baqrta Project in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq: Season 2011

İnsancıl Müdahale: 1999 Kosova ve 2003 Irak Sonrası Durum

by Uluslararası İlişkiler

Funda Keskin, " İnsancıl Müdahale: 1999 Kosova ve 2003 Irak Sonrası Durum ", Uluslararası İlişkiler, Cilt 3, Sayı 12 (Kış), 2006-2007

1999′da Kosova müdahalesi ile gündeme bir kez daha giren insancıl müdahale uygulaması, BM Antlaşması’nın kuvvet... more 1999′da Kosova müdahalesi ile gündeme bir kez daha giren insancıl müdahale uygulaması, BM Antlaşması’nın kuvvet kullanma yasağına getirdiği istisnalardan değildir. Önce 1970′lerde, sonra 1990′larda insancıl müdahaleyi istisna olarak tanımlama yönündeki tüm çabalara karşın, ne devletlerin tutumları ne de yazarların çoğunun görüşleri, insancıl müdahaleyi bir istisna olarak kabul etmektedir. Kosova müdahalesini gerçekleştiren devletler dahi insancıl müdahaleyi hukuksal bir istisna olarak değerlendirmemektedir. 2003 yılında Irak’ın işgal edilmesinin ardından, insancıl müdahale kavramı önce gündemden düşmüş, sonra bu işgalin gerekçeleri çerçevesinde tekrar konu edilmeye başlanmıştır. Ancak işgali insancıl müdahale olarak değerlendiren çok küçük bir azınlık vardır ve onların düşünceleri de özellikle Irak’taki mevcut güvenliksiz ortam nedeniyle inandırıcı olamamaktadır.

Modernizzazione, imperialismo e sviluppo politico in Iraq tra le due guerre mondiali, 1914

by Paolo Chiocchetti

Leaving Iraq: Immunity, Impunity, and the End of the War

by Ronald Osborn

Commonweal Magazine, Vol.139, No.5, March 9, 2012 (cover story)

If the logic of empire dictates that U.S. soldiers be placed above or beyond the laws of any land they occupy, even in... more If the logic of empire dictates that U.S. soldiers be placed above or beyond the laws of any land they occupy, even in peaceful, modern, and democratic nations that are close American allies, how much more so in still war-torn Iraq—a country in which documented war crimes involving U.S. forces during the past nine years continue to go unpunished. There are obvious political reasons why the Obama administration refused to leave troops stationed in Iraq without guarantees of immunity from Iraqi law. There are also obvious reasons why the Iraqis refused to accept the neocolonial logic that U.S. soldiers must be granted immunity from the legal jurisdiction of any country that “hosts” them.

"Basra’da “Muktedir” ve “Müşteki” Bir İttihatçı: Süleyman Nazif Bey’in Basra Valiliği"

by Burcu Kurt

Sakarya Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, Haziran 2012

II. Meşrutiyet döneminde Irak kıtasının üç vilayetinde de valilik görevinde bulunmuş olan Süleyman Nazif Bey’in Basra... more II. Meşrutiyet döneminde Irak kıtasının üç vilayetinde de valilik görevinde bulunmuş olan Süleyman Nazif Bey’in Basra valiliği bir çok açılardan önem arz etmektedir. Bu dönem İttihat ve Terakki Cemiyeti’nin Arap taşrasına yönelik politikasını tahlili için bir örneklem teşkil etmekte, aynı zamanda Cemiyet’in Arap taşrasına atamış olduğu vali tipolojisine de güzel bir örnek oluşturmaktadır. Basra valiliği döneminde izlediği sosyo-ekonomik, siyasal ve bayındırlık politikalarıyla son derece “muktedir” bir vali imajı çizen Süleyman Nazif, aynı zamanda gerek eşrafla gerekse yerel memurlarla girdiği polemikler itibariyle Babıali’ye sürekli şikayet arz eden bir tablo çizmiştir. Bununla birlikte Süleyman Nazif Bey’in II. Meşrutiyet döneminde Basra vilayetinde görev yapan valiler içerisinden en etkililerinden biri olduğunu söylemek yanlış olmayacaktır.

Back from the “Outside”: Returnees and Diasporic Imagining in Iraqi Kurdistan

by Diane E. King

King, Diane E. 2008 Back from the “Outside”: Returnees and Diasporic Imagining in Iraqi Kurdistan. International Journal on Multicultural Societies 10(2)

Iraqi Kurdistan is a “homeland” for a growing diaspora of Kurdish people living throughout the West. In this article I... more Iraqi Kurdistan is a “homeland” for a growing diaspora of Kurdish people living throughout the West. In this article I argue for return migrants’ narratives about life in the West as a constitutive element of a Kurdish diasporic imaginary in the homeland itself in addition to in the West. The first significant numbers of Kurds to out-migrate were mainly young men who fled the 1975 collapse of the Kurdish rebellion against the central government in which many of their peers perished. Most settled in Europe and the United States. Theirs was probably the last generation of Iraqi Kurdish out-migrants to experience a thorough rupture from their past that was sustained by Iraq’s ongoing political unrest, totalitarianism, and relatively sealed borders. This changed dramatically in 1991 when the Kurdish region of Iraq became functionally independent from Baghdad. Thousands of migrants left Iraqi Kurdistan (now known officially as the Kurdistan Region) for the West during the following decade. During the same period, Kurds who had migrated to the West in both the present and previous decades returned, most on short-term visits. Throngs of neighbours, friends and kin peppered each returnee with questions and listened raptly to accounts of life in the West, which they referred to simply as “the outside.” These encounters instilled those remaining “inside” with a new communal consciousness formulated vis-à-vis the West. This and accompanying political and technological changes have resulted in Iraqi Kurds’ becoming a diasporic people even though most have never left “home.”

My Field Site is Soaked with Blood

by Diane E. King

King, Diane E. 2009 My Field Site is Soaked with Blood. Society for Applied Anthropology Newsletter 20(1):32-34.

Fieldwork and Fear in Iraqi Kurdistan

by Diane E. King

King, Diane E. 2009 Fieldwork and Fear in Iraqi Kurdistan. In Violence: Ethnographic Encounters. Parvis Ghassem-Fachandi, ed. Pp. 51-69. New York: Berg Press.

The Personal is Patrilineal: Namus as Sovereignty

by Diane E. King

King, Diane E. 2008 The Personal is Patrilineal: Namus as Sovereignty. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power 15(3):317-342.

In this article I propose a new model of namus, the concept recognized in some circum-Mediterranean, Middle Eastern,... more In this article I propose a new model of namus, the concept recognized in some circum-Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Central and South Asian cultures and usually translated as “honor.” One way to understand namus is to regard it as patrilineal sovereignty, particularly reproductive sovereignty. After an “honor killing,” a “defense of honor” explanatory narrative is told by both perpetrator and community alike. I argue that an honor killing represents a show of reproductive sovereignty by people who belong to a patrilineage. I first describe ethnographic contexts in which “honor killings” are operative, and then, relying on Delaney’s (1991) model of namus as deeply bound up with patrogenerative theories of procreation, argue that a hymen is both a symbolic and real border to membership in the group. Finally, I apply this new conceptualization to statecraft, specifically to killings carried out in Iraqi Kurdistan following the founding of the Kurdish statelet there in 1991. Here, reproductive sovereignty and defense of borders were operative writ large as “honor killing” logic was expanded from lineage to state.

Interview: Iraq Ramping up its Oil Production (Arabic)

by Justin Dargin

An interview with AMEinfo about whether Iraq would be able to successfully increase its oil production to compete with Saudi Arabia within the decade.

WILL THEY EVER TRUST US AGAIN ? Michael MOORE London, Penguin Books, 2004

by Jacques Coulardeau

The genre « Letters from the Front » has been used a lot in history. It is a complex genre that can lead to many things. Letters from GIs in the Second World War were used by linguists to analyze many linguistic points concerning the linguistic competence of young American men of average and low education, for example. Michael Herr used letters from the Vietnam war to write his book Dispatches, for another example. Here Michael Moore uses sollicited letters he received via email on his website from various military personnel in Iraq, then in other countries around the world, then from relatives and friends of the aforesaid.

So Abraham Lincoln was right : « If you give the people the facts, the Republic will be safe. » But there is a... more So Abraham Lincoln was right : « If you give the people the facts, the Republic will be safe. » But there is a provision for this to be true. People have to take off their warping ideological glasses to see the facts, otherwise the Republic is in danger. And it is exactly what happened. They all kept their idelogical religious glasses on and they voted against their own interest, or did not vote at all. It takes more than one prophet to change the world. Jesus – and he was no prophet – had twelve Apostles, thirteen with Paul.