Book Review - A History of Iraq

 A History of Iraq
 Charles Tripp 
 Cambridge University Press 2002
 324 pages, 2nd edition, bibliography, index
 
 A book review by Danny Yee
 http://dannyreviews.com/h/Iraq.html

There has been a spate of books on Iraq recently, but Tripp is a long-time
Iraq specialist, not a newcomer to the subject.  And, while his narrative
runs down to mid-2002, when Saddam Hussein was facing increasing pressure
from the United States and war seemed likely, recent events don't receive
disproportionate attention: just over a third of _A History of Iraq_
is devoted to the period since 1968.

Tripp's account is chronological, beginning with the three Ottoman
provinces (Baghdad, Basra, and Mosul) which became Iraq following the
First World War.  Then came the British Mandate, the Hashemite monarchy
(1932 to 1958), and the Republic (1958 to 1968), before the rise of the
Ba'ath and Saddam Hussein.

The focus is on politics and above all on the state.  Tripp explores
the ways in which the Iraqi state has acted as a centre of gravity, as
source of power, dispenser of resources, and propagator of ideologies.
Ideas and social structures -- nationalism, pan-Arabism, patrimonialism
and patronage, tribal affiliations, religious and ethnic divisions,
etc. -- have been been moulded by the state even as they constrained it.
        
        "The principles and structures of patronage have been embedded
        in a political order that brings important elements of the
        state and the societies of Iraq into a relationship whereby
        forms of mutual dependence are created.  Paradoxically, the
        fragmentation associated with this process has tended to
        reinforce it."
        
As well as Saddam Hussein, leaders such as Nuri al-Sa`id (premier or
power behind the scenes during the Hashemite period), `Abd al-Karim
Qasim, `Abd al-Salam `Arif, and Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr (presidents) have
a prominent role.

Tripp stays narrowly focused.  He makes no excursions into social or
economic history; the oil industry features where politically significant;
the war with Iran is covered in so far as it affects Saddam Hussein's
options and changes his relationship with the officer corps of the army;
and so forth.  And peripheral agents -- tribal sheikhs, low-ranking army
officers, Islamic clerics -- remain mostly anonymous, with developments
in the Kurdish areas or among the Shi'ite clergy covered only when they
present problems or opportunities for the central government.

The limited scope of Tripp's history is occasionally frustrating, but
it does provide excellent background for anyone interested in political
systems or current Iraqi politics.  Saddam Hussein's deft co-option
or marginalisation of factions, use of violence, and distribution of
resources through webs of patronage all followed earlier patterns.
And, as Tripp writes,
        
        "those who are seeking to develop a new narrative for the history
        of Iraq must recognise the powerful legacies at work in the
        country if they do not want to succumb to their logic."

--

%T      A History of Iraq
%A      Tripp, Charles
%I      Cambridge University Press
%C      Cambridge
%D      2002
%O      paperback, bibliography, index
%G      ISBN 0-521-52900-X
%P      xviii,324pp
%K      Middle East, history
%Z      politics from the Ottomans to Saddam Hussein

6 October 2003

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        Copyright (c) 2003 Danny Yee       http://danny.oz.au/
        Danny Yee's Book Reviews      http://dannyreviews.com/
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