Iraq Post-2003. Causes and Roots of Potential State Failure

Master's Thesis from the year 2022 in the subject Politics - Topic: International relations, grade: 1.0 - (Mit Auszeichnung), Queen Mary University of London (School of Politics and International Relations), course: Masterarbeit, language: English, abstract: The work is one of few studying the phenomena of failing states. The work investigates the underlying causes of a potential state failure in Iraq. Research and media reports have actively emphasised and studied the impact of the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003, with little consideration to the historical challenges of Iraq's nation-building and identity. To understand Iraq's challenges, the thesis analyses contemporary symptoms of failure in light of deeply rooted issues that have plagued the Iraqi state since its formation by the British mandate. Causal and process-based variables that were present in collapsed states are used to study the modern Iraqi state, linking the results to issues that predated the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. The results showed that the majority of the discussed contemporary threats to the Iraqi state can be traced to unresolved concerns and problems prior to the events of 2003.