Title: An Iraq of Its Regions: Cornerstones of a Federal Democracy?
Abstract: An Iraq of Its Regions: Cornerstones of a Federal Democracy? Edited by Reidar Visser and Gareth Stansfield. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. 274 pp. $27.50. Federalism remains a dominant political debate in post-Saddam Iraq, and while Western commentators often focus on Iraqi Kurdistan, in reality, Iraqi discussions are broader. Visser, a research fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, explains, Villages, towns, and regions have shaped identities: the people of southern Iraq, for instance, often think of themselves as 'Qurnawis' or 'Basrawis' or just 'Southerners' rather than as 'Shiites'or 'Sunnis.' Indeed, Visser persuades us that the conventional wisdom that Iraq is an amalgam of three Ottoman provinces - one Sunni, one Shi'i, and one Kurdisli - is wrong for that identity is more complex and disparate. Sorbonne historian Alastair Northedge fleshes out tins point more with the definitive essay tracing the development of Iraqi identity prior to the Ottoman m' furcation of the region, while Richard Schofield of King's College London sketches a useful outline of the drawing of modem Iraqi boundaries. Visser 's introduction to An Iraq of Its Regions is detailed and well-grounded in historiography. So, too, is his contribution on the two regions of southem Iraq. He argues persuasively that much of the Western media misinterpreted Iraqi Shi'i leader 'Abdul 'Aziz Hakim's demand for a single southern, federal region, and that discussion in southern Iraq revolves around two regions: the Basra- Amar aNasiriya triangle and another in the Middle Euphrates region although he also describes minor variations that arise time to time. Exeter University scholars Fanar Haddad and Sajjad Rizvi's contribution on fitting Baghdad into the federalist discourse pales next to Visser 's work, but after a somewhat disjointed discussion of federalism in other countries and federalism from above as opposed to from below, they persuasively show through interviews the fears that many Baghdadis have that federalism might lead to the dissolution of the state. University of Haifa historian Ronen Zeidel reprises his thesis on regionalism around Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's home town of Tikrit in a separate chapter. Utilizing several Arabic histories and other sources, Zeidel writes a definitive, local history of Tikrit the sixteenth century through the present day with a special emphasis on the rise of the Tikritis in the Iraqi military and power structure in the second half of the twentieth century. Zeidal shows that the primacy of Tikriti regional identity did not survive Saddam's overthrow since Tikriti refusal to fight advancing coalition forces shattered regional solidarity. …
Publication Year: 2010
Publication Date: 2010-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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