The post-war reconstruction is a key aspect for the survival of historical memory. However, this process often becomes the creation of a new state, with no regard for popular feelings. In this case, the cultural, social and political heritage of the ex-belligerent country gets often lost for the sake of “democratic securitisation”, according to the common idea of reconstruction as the operation of “righting wrongs”. This study focuses upon the post 2003 Iraqi war period, aiming to shed light on how the state-building process, after the emanation of 2005 Constitution, found its bases on the attempt of erasing Iraq memory from 1958 to 2003. Combining two methodological approaches, i.e. Constitutional law-oriented analysis and historical survey on the legalisation of memory in Iraq during the reconstruction, this research aims to demonstrate how Iraq did not enter in a proper post-war period, but nowadays it is still suspended in a never ending post-Saddam era. Since this phenomenon originates from the contraposition between the erased positive memory of national and international role of Iraq in recent times (i.e. Iraq as: a modern secularised state; one of the first UN members; a founder of the Arab League) and the use of hard power to impose a new Western-approved memory, Iraqi people started feeling deprived of their national pride, becoming a nation without a state, which is still facing a very harsh conflict that seems to be endless.

State, Nation and Identity. The Case of Iraq (1920-2005)

Alessia Tortolini
Primo
2018-01-01

Abstract

The post-war reconstruction is a key aspect for the survival of historical memory. However, this process often becomes the creation of a new state, with no regard for popular feelings. In this case, the cultural, social and political heritage of the ex-belligerent country gets often lost for the sake of “democratic securitisation”, according to the common idea of reconstruction as the operation of “righting wrongs”. This study focuses upon the post 2003 Iraqi war period, aiming to shed light on how the state-building process, after the emanation of 2005 Constitution, found its bases on the attempt of erasing Iraq memory from 1958 to 2003. Combining two methodological approaches, i.e. Constitutional law-oriented analysis and historical survey on the legalisation of memory in Iraq during the reconstruction, this research aims to demonstrate how Iraq did not enter in a proper post-war period, but nowadays it is still suspended in a never ending post-Saddam era. Since this phenomenon originates from the contraposition between the erased positive memory of national and international role of Iraq in recent times (i.e. Iraq as: a modern secularised state; one of the first UN members; a founder of the Arab League) and the use of hard power to impose a new Western-approved memory, Iraqi people started feeling deprived of their national pride, becoming a nation without a state, which is still facing a very harsh conflict that seems to be endless.
2018
Tortolini, Alessia
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11568/1049411
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