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Author Blaydes, Lisa, 1975- author.

Title State of repression : Iraq under Saddam Hussein / Lisa Blaydes.

Publication Info. Princeton : Princeton University Press, [2018]
©2018

Copies

Location Call No. OPAC Message Status
 Axe 2nd Floor Stacks  956.7044 B614s 2018    ---  Available
1 copy being processed for Axe Acquisitions Order.
Description xix, 354 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm
text txt rdacontent
unmediated n rdamedia
volume nc rdacarrier
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages [331]-350) and index.
Summary A new account of modern Iraqi politics that overturns the conventional wisdom about its sectarian divisions. How did Iraq become one of the most repressive dictatorships of the late twentieth century? The conventional wisdom about Iraq's modern political history is that the country was doomed by its diverse social fabric. But in State of Repression, Lisa Blaydes challenges this belief by showing that the country's breakdown was far from inevitable. At the same time, she offers a new way of understanding the behavior of other authoritarian regimes and their populations. Drawing on archival material captured from the headquarters of Saddam Hussein's ruling Ba'th Party in the wake of the 2003 US invasion, Blaydes illuminates the complexities of political life in Iraq, including why certain Iraqis chose to collaborate with the regime while others worked to undermine it. She demonstrates that, despite the Ba'thist regime's pretensions to political hegemony, its frequent reliance on collective punishment of various groups reinforced and cemented identity divisions. In addition, a series of costly external shocks to the economy--resulting from fluctuations in oil prices and Iraq's war with Iran-weakened the capacity of the regime to monitor, co-opt, coerce, and control factions of Iraqi society. In addition to calling into question the common story of modern Iraqi politics, State of Repression offers a new explanation of why and how dictators repress their people in ways that can inadvertently strengthen regime opponents.
Contents Preface -- Introduction -- Compliance and resistance under autocracy -- State- and nation-building in Iraq, 1973-1979 -- War burden and coalitional politics, 1980-1991 -- Political implications of economic embargo, 1991-2003 -- Collaboration and resistance in Iraqi Kurdistan -- Political orientation and Ba'th Party participation -- Rumors as resistance -- Religion, identity, and contentious politics -- Military service, militias, and coup attempts -- Conclusion.
Subject Iraq -- History -- 1979-1991.
Iraq -- History -- 1991-2003.
Iraq -- Politics and government -- 1979-1991.
Iraq -- Politics and government -- 1991-2003.
Politics and government. (OCoLC)fst01919741
Iraq. (OCoLC)fst01205757
Chronological Term 1979-2003
Genre/Form History. (OCoLC)fst01411628
Added Title Iraq under Saddam Hussein
ISBN 069118027X (hardcover)
9780691180274 (hardcover)
Standard No. 14828980

 
    
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