Petroleum and Politics in Iraq

The Struggle for the State
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-041-13523-4
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 268 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Reihe: Durham Modern Middle East and Islamic World Series

Petroleum and Politics in Iraq: The Struggle for the State investigates how oil wealth, elite power struggles, and foreign intervention have shaped the fragile nature of the modern Iraqi state.

Focusing on the period from Iraq’s foundation through to the aftermath of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, this book analyses how rentierism, tactical political decision-making, and coercion have interacted to erode, rather than reinforce, state cohesion. Drawing on rentier state theory, Joel Migdal’s “politics of survival,” and Antonio Giustozzi’s work on coercive institutions, it traces how successive Iraqi regimes - despite access to massive oil rents and international aid - failed to build lasting legitimacy or effective governance. Instead, the reliance on coercion became increasingly pronounced, leaving the state vulnerable to internal collapse and foreign influence. Through a careful examination of both pre- and post-2003 Iraq, the book argues that elite strategies and international actions have consistently undermined opportunities for meaningful state consolidation and raises critical questions about the future trajectory of Iraq’s territorial and political integrity.

Essential reading for scholars of Middle East politics, international relations, and political economy, this book also offers valuable insights for policymakers, analysts, and practitioners involved in post-conflict reconstruction, state-building, and governance in resource-dependent and conflict-prone contexts.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

Moore, John D.

Fachgebiete

• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Regionalwissenschaften, Regionalstudien
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Stadt- und Regionalsoziologie
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Volkswirtschaftslehre Allgemein
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Studien zu einzelnen Ländern und Gebieten

Inhaltsverzeichnis

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES, MAPS AND FIGURES

FOREWORD

CHAPTER ONE – THE IMPORTANCE OF IRAQ

1.1 A Complex Mix – Hydrocarbons, Conflict and the State

1.2 The Importance of Iraq

1.3 In Focus

1.4 Research Approach and Structure

CHAPTER TWO – THEORY: ECONOMICS, POLITICS AND COERCION

2.1 Setting the Stage

2.2 Rentier State Theory

2.3 Moving Beyond Early RST

2.4 Implications of Rentier State Theory – A Closer Look

2.5 Rentier Links to Authoritarianism

2.6 Migdal and the Politics of Survival

2.7 Viewing Survival Politics through Different Prisms

2.8 Paradox, Dilemma, and Options for Leadership

2.9 The Politics of Survival – Implications

2.10 The Role of Coercion

2.11 Giustozzi’s 7 Hypotheses

2.12 Phases of a State’s Life

2.13 Remember the Monopoly

2.14 Impacts of International Intervention

2.15 Theory to Praxis

CHAPTER THREE – IRAQ’S ECONOMY OVER TIME: FROM ROYALTY TO RENTS

3.1 Monarchy, Mandate, and Independence

3.2 The Revolutionary Period

3.3 The Ba’ath through Saddam – Boom, Bust and War

3.4 Iraq Under Sanctions

3.5 Iraq after 2003

3.6 Oil and the New Iraq

3.7 An Analysis

CHAPTER FOUR – THE POLITICS OF SURVIVAL

4.1 The British – War, Mandate, Monarchy to the Eve of Revolution (1914 – 1958)

4.2 The Revolutionary Period (1958 – 1968)

4.3 The Return of the Ba’ath (1968 – 1978)

4.4 Iraq Under Saddam

4.5 The US Invasion, Withdrawal and Aftermath

4.6 Iraq and the Politics of Survival – an Assessment

CHAPTER FIVE – COERCION AND THE IRAQI STATE

5.1 Monarchy, Mandate, Independence, and the Monopoly

5.2 Revolutionary Iraq

5.3 The Rise of the Ba’ath through Saddam

5.4 America, Collapse and the Struggle Renewed

5.5 Assessment – Iraq and Coercion

CHAPTER SIX – CONCLUSION: THE STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ – PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

6.1 Framework and Findings

6.2 Insights and Implications

6.3 The Primacy of the Political

6.4 On International Intervention

6.5 Looking Behind, Looking Ahead

EPILOGUE

APPENDICES

Appendix 1 – United Nations Security Information Report 08 December 2005

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

Über Autor(innen)

John D. Moore has spent over three decades working in international security and development, serving with government, multilateral agencies, the energy industry and non-governmental organisations across parts of the Middle East, South Asia, East Africa and the Pacific Islands. Drawing upon his wealth of experience, Mr. Moore brings a unique perspective on the nexus between security and development. He holds a PhD from the Australian National University, a Masters Degree in Political Economy and International Security Studies from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs from the Virginia Military Institute.