
Democracy in Iraq
History, Politics, Discourse
Benjamin Isakhan(Author)
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 28. July 2012
Book
Hardback
200 pages
978-1-4094-0175-9 (ISBN)
Description
This book proposes a significant reassessment of the history of Iraq, documenting democratic experiences from ancient Mesopotamia through to the US occupation. Such an analysis takes to task claims that the 'West' has a uniquely democratic history and a responsibility to spread democracy across the world. It also reveals that Iraq has a democratic history all of its own, from ancient Middle Eastern assemblies and classical Islamic theology and philosophy, through to the myriad political parties, newspapers and protest movements of more recent times. This book argues that the democratic history of Iraq could serve as a powerful political and discursive tool where the Iraqi people may come to feel a sense of ownership over democracy and take pride in endorsing it. This could go a long way towards mitigating the current conflicts across the nation and in stabilizing and legitimating its troubled democracy. Taking an interdisciplinary approach and referring to some of the most influential critical theorists to question ideological assumptions about democracy and its history, this book is useful to those interested in political and legal history, human rights and democracy.
Reviews / Votes
'This book is a serious and in-depth reading of Iraqi political history. Isakhan's argument, bolstered by an impressive array of source material, is a direct affront to the use of violence to impose a wholesale American "democracy" on a society that has its own rich history of egalitarian and collective forms of governance.' Muhsin Al-Musawi, Columbia University, USA 'Democracy in Iraq expertly excavates democratic traditions that have long been buried in Western Orientalism and Bathist totalitarianism. In demonstrating that a will towards collective and participatory governance has existed over the centuries, Benjamin Isakhan rescues assessments for Iraqi democratisation from the kind of negative determinism, deracinated from history and local culture, that has dominated scholarly and policy debates.' James Piscatori, Durham University, UKMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
473 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4094-0175-9 (9781409401759)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
11/2016
1st Edition
Routledge
€78.20
Shipment within 10-20 days

E-Book
05/2016
Routledge
€72.49
Available for download

E-Book
05/2016
Routledge
€72.49
Available for download
Person
Dr Benjamin Isakhan, Research Fellow, Centre for Comparative Social Research, Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia
Content
A Note on Translation and Transliteration; Prelude: In the Beginning; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Chapter 1 Discourses of Democracy; Chapter 2 Democracy in Ancient Iraq; Chapter 3 Islam and Democracy in Iraq; Chapter 4 Discourses of Democracy in Colonial Iraq; Chapter 5 Oppression and Resistance in Post-Colonial Iraq; Chapter 6 Occupation and Democracy in Re-Colonial Iraq; Chapter 101 Conclusion;