This is the first monograph to empirically analyze the impact of the myriad conflicts that arose within Iraq in the wake of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 on nation-building. It draws upon a plethora of primary sources, including school textbooks and local newspapers, in conjunction with a range of unique surveys, quantitative text analysis, and other methodologies. This study represents a distinctive attempt to answer the question of why national cohesion has been maintained despite the occurrence of devastating conflicts and a brutal civil war in Iraq. It employs unique data and a mixed-methods approach to achieve this goal. It has frequently been asserted that the Iraqi state descended into dysfunction and national unity was undermined as a consequence of the various conflicts that have occurred in the post-war period. However, the author's multiple surveys revealed that, despite a lack of trust in state institutions, individuals have high expectations of their role. Moreover, there is a paucity of trust in non-state actors who are responsible for fulfilling the functions of the state in its absence. The surveys also indicate a robust sense of Iraqi identity in spite of the civil wars and conflicts that divide the population, along with a high value placed on national integration policies. This book elucidates the factors that have led to these contradictory attitudes. Focusing centrally on issues surrounding post-conflict nation-building in Iraq, the book also offers methodological suggestions for analyzing various aspects of the impact of conflict in other post-war societies, a topic that has not been thoroughly studied empirically.

Autorentext

Dai Yamao is an associate professor at the Graduate School of Social and Cultural Studies, Kyushu University, and his main research fields are Middle East politics, Iraqi politics, and comparative politics. He graduated from Kyoto University with a Ph.D. in area studies (Middle East politics). He has received two awards: 5th Japan Association of International Relations, Academic Award (October 20, 2012, for his journal article) and 17th Ohira Masayoshi Memorial Award in International Development Studies (January 21, 2014, for his monograph). He has published three monographs, Measuring the Impact of Conflict: Reorganization of the State and Nation in Iraq through Public Opinion Surveys and Quantitative Text Analysis (Koyo Shobo, 2021), Conflict and State-Building: Politics of Reconstruction in Postwar Iraq (Akashi Shoten, 2013), and Islamist Movements in Contemporary Iraq: From Revolutionary Movement to Government Party (Yuhikaku, 2011). His work has been published in the British Journal of the Middle East Studies, The Developing Economies, World Political Science Review, Asian Journal of Comparative Politics, International Journal of Contemporary Iraqi Studies, and Arab Studies Quarterly.