Ronen Zeidel - Iraq Between Occupations. Perspectives from 1920 to the Present [2010][A]

Book Description
Release date: December 21, 2010 | ISBN-10: 0230107109 | ISBN-13: 978-0230107106
A fresh look at Iraqi history through the twentieth century until today, this book identifies continuities and breaks in the Iraqi experience. It combines chapters that provide each an expansive bird’s-eye view of a key issue spanning a century with chapters that focus on more specific case studies that have been largely overlooked so far but such that are of great significance for Iraq’s present and future. Some of the events and developments discussed were enforced from the outside and some grew out of particular and historically changing configurations within Iraqi society, but all are highly relevant to the understanding of contemporary Iraq. Written by leading scholars in the field, the chapters focus on such topics as the changing features of the of Iraqi identity, the rise of Iraqi nationalism alongside competing identities, ethnic and sectarian communalism, the role of women, Iraq’s military history, the Iraqi economy, state building after the 2003 invasion, and a comparative discussion of the British and U.S. colonial adventures and the implications of those developments for the future of the country. The volume raises some pertinent questions on the way Iraqi history and present are interpreted and adds knowledge to the existing scholarship.

Reviews
“The editors have assembled an impressive list of specialists on Iraq to evaluate salient and contested themes in Iraqi history, politics, and society from the days of the monarchy through the Republican and Saddamist periods to the current post-2003 era. The analysis is uniformly rigorous, balanced, and illuminating, and the various studies are extensively- researched yet concise and to the point. There is much of value in this book to the specialist as well as to the general reader.”--Adeed Dawisha, Distinguished Professor, Miami University. Author of Iraq: A Political History from Independence to Occupation

“This fine collection of essays is must reading for anyone who seeks to understand the past and present of Iraq and the implications for the country’s future. The authors provide authoritative accounts of that troubled country’s history and the interplay of external powers and internal actors. They deftly integrate the successive phases of Iraq’s political evolution from the twentieth into the twenty-first century, treating questions of identity, religion, democracy, nation building, monarchy, dictatorship, war, occupation, and insurgency. This is an exceptional one-volume work, invaluable for understanding this complex land.”--Robert J. Lieber, professor of Government & International Affairs, Georgetown University

“Iraq Between Occupations assembles a superb set of scholars to critically assess a pivotal historical era that continues to influence post-Saddam Iraq. By elucidating the subtle and complex interplay of domestic and external factors in the shaping of the Iraqi state, the volume is an invaluable resource for policymakers and students of contemporary Middle East politics.”--Robert S. Litwak, Vice President for Programs, Woodrow Wilson Center

“This is perhaps one of the most comprehensive analyses of modern Iraq. It successfully tackles all the important aspects of Iraq’s transformation, from its new identity to its societal divisions and the rise of new actors, without ignoring the historical context. Aptly named, Iraq Between Occupations, this collection of essays explore the trials and tribulations of state formation in Iraq. It is diverse, rich, and innovative in its approach and is bound to become an essential reading for all who want to understand Iraq’s tortuous and unfinished trajectory.”--Henri J. Barkey, Lehigh University and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

“This excellent collection brings together contributions by a new generation of Iraq historians with those of some of the most seasoned experts in the field. The quality and breadth of the articles is remarkable--from the latest trends in research to impressive overview essays. Both readers who seek reliable background information on Iraqi history and politics and those looking for exciting new insights will find this volume a most useful resource.”--Peter Wien teaches Middle Eastern History at the University of Maryland

About the Author
Amatzia Baram is Director of the Center for Iraq Studies and Professor Emeritus at the University of Haifa, Israel. He formerly served as Chair of the Department of Middle East History at the University of Haifa and Director of the Jewish-Arab Center and the Middle East Institute. He was a three-time resident Senior Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and a two-time resident at the U.S. Institute of Peace, both in Washington, D.C. He was Senior Associate Member at Saint Antony's College, Oxford, as well as Fellow at the Rockefeller Foundation at Bellagio, the Washington Institute, and other research centers. He taught as guest professor at Georgetown and Melbourne Universities. Between 1987 and 2009, Baram advised the U.S. government (the Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and Bush administrations) on Iraq and the Gulf. He has been interviewed extensively by the world electronic and press media on Iraq and the Gulf. Baram was interviewed by and contributed articles to newspapers such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and the Guardian. Among his publications are Culture, History and Ideology in the Formation of Ba'thist Iraq (1991); Iraq's Road to War (ed. 1993); Building toward Crisis: Saddam Husayn's Strategy for Survival (1998), and some seventy articles in professional magazines and academic volumes.
Achim Rohde is a Middle East historian at Philipps-University Marburg, Germany, where he is Coordinator of the research network "Re-Configurations. History, Memory, and Transormative Processes in the Middle East and North Africa" (http://www.uni-marburg.de/cnms/forschung/re-konfigurationen). He is the author of State-Society Relations in Ba'thist Iraq: Facing Dictatorship (2010).
Ronen Zeidel is Director of Research at the Center for Iraq Studies, University of Haifa, and teaches at the Rothberg School for International Students in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is also a member of the Iraq Study Group at the Harry S. Truman Institute in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His articles on Iraqi society and culture have been published in professional journals in North America, Europe, and Israel.