International Nation-State Building and Political Violence in New Iraq

پژوهش نامه ایرانی سیاست بین الملل

Article 5, Volume 2, Issue 3, February 2014, Pages 95-121   

Document Type: مقالات

DOI: 10.22067/jipr.v2i3.44295

Authors

Alireza Samiee Esfahani^* ; Jaafar Noruzi Nejad

Abstract

Iraq is a country with many social cleavages, due to its ethnic and religious diversity, and because pf the inability of its political elite, this feature has always hindered resolving its problems. With the removal of the authoritarian regime of Sadam Hossein, ethnic and religious disputes escalated to their peak. The main question in this article is why has ethnic and sectarian violence exacerbated in Iraq after Saddam Hossein? In response to the question posed, it is argued that the process of international nation-state building or nation- state building from outside that was implemented with a security oriented approach by the US, because of its incompliance with cultural and social features of Iraq, has led to the intensification of sectarian and ethnic violence in the country. The method used in this research is qualitative and causal, using Rogers Brubaker’ theory. Findings of the reseach indicate that identical institutional structures do not work for all societies effectively, and every society’s exclusive capacities and delicacies must be taken into consideration in the process of nation-state building.

Keywords

: Iraq; International nation-state building; Political violence; Social cleavages

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