A Country Study: Iraq

• Iraq
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Preface
• Country Profile - Visit new updated Profile (PDF)
  • Country
  • Geography
  • Society
  • Economy
  • Transportation
  • Government and Politics
  • National Security
• Introduction

• Chapter 1 - Historical Setting (Mark Lewis)
  • Ancient Mesopotamia
    • Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, and Assyria
    • Iranian and Greek Intrusions
  • The Arab Conquest and the Coming of Islam
    • The Sunni-Shia Controversy
    • The Abbasid Caliphate, 750-1258
    • The Mongol Invasion
  • The Ottoman Period, 1534-1918
  • World War I and the British Mandate
  • Iraq as an Independent Monarchy
  • Republican Iraq
  • Coups, Coup Attempts, and Foreign Policy
  • The Emergence of Saddam Hussein, 1968-79
  • The Iran-Iraq Conflict

• Chapter 2 - The Society and Its Environment (Stephen Pelletiere)
  • Geography and Population
    • Boundaries
    • Major Geographical Features
    • Settlement Patterns
    • Climate
    • Population
    • The People
    • Kurds
    • Other Minorities
  • Religious Life
    • Islam
      • Sunnis
      • Shias
    • Sunni-Shia Relations in Iraq
  • Social Systems
    • Rural Society
    • Impact of Agrarian Reform
    • Urban Society
    • Stratification and Social Classes
  • Family and Society
  • Education and Welfare
    • Education
    • Health
    • Welfare

• Chapter 3 - The Economy (Robert Scott Mason)
  • Growth and Structure of the Economy
  • The Role of Government
  • Banking and Finance
  • The Oil Sector
    • Developments Through World War II
    • The Turkish Petroleum Company
    • Post-World War II Through the 1970s
    • Oil in the 1980s
  • Industrialization
  • Agriculture
    • Water Resources
    • Land Tenure and Agrarian Reform
    • Cropping and Livestock
  • Transportation
    • Roads
    • Railroads
    • Ports
    • Airports
  • Telecommunications
  • Electricity
  • Foreign Trade

• Chapter 4 - Government and Politics (Eric Hooglund)
  • Constitutional Framework
  • Government
    • The Revolutionary Command Council
    • The National Assembly
    • The President and the Council of Ministers
    • The Judiciary
    • Local Government
    • Kurdish Autonomy
  • Politics
    • The Baath Party
    • The Politics of Alliance: The Progressive National Front
    • Political Opposition
  • Mass Media
  • Foreign Policy
    • The Soviet Union
    • The West
    • The Persian Gulf Countries
    • Iraq and Other Arab Countries
    • Relations with Other Countries
    • Participation in International Organizations

• Chapter 5 - National Security (Joseph A. Kechichian)
  • National Security Concerns
  • The Regular Armed Forces
    • Size, Equipment, and Organization
    • Manpower and Training
    • Conditions of Service and Morale
    • Military Justice System
    • Uniforms and Rank Insignia
  • Paramilitary Forces
  • Foreign Military Ties
    • Military Ties Prior to the Iran-Iraq War
    • The Iran-Iraq War and the Quest for New Sources of Arms
    • Arms from the Soviet Union
    • Arms from France
    • The Search for Nuclear Technology
  • The Iran-Iraq Wars
    • Iraqi Offensives, 1980-82
    • Iraqi Retreats, 1982-84
    • The War of Attrition, 1984-87
    • The Tanker War, 1984-87
  • Armed Forces and Society
    • Status in National Life
    • The Sociology of the Military
    • The Defense Burden
    • The Impact of Casualties on the Armed Forces
    • Treatment of Veterans and Widows
  • Internal Security
    • Internal Developments and Security
      • The Kurdish Problem
      • The Iraqi Communists and Baathist Iraq
      • Impact of the Iranian Revolution on Iraqi Shias
    • Internal Security in the 1980s
    • Incidence of Crime
    • Criminal Justice System

• Appendix. Tables
• Bibliography
• Glossary