The Struggle for Iraq's Future
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How Corruption, Incompetence and Sectarianism Have Undermined Democracy
Zaid Al-Ali
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Format: ClothPrice: $35.00
Many Westerners have offered interpretations of Iraq’s nation-building progress in the wake of the 2003 war and the eventual withdrawal of American troops from the country, but little has been written by Iraqis themselves. This forthright book fills in the gap. Zaid Al-Ali, an Iraqi lawyer with direct ties to the people of his homeland, to government circles, and to the international community, provides a uniquely insightful and up-to-date view of Iraq’s people, their government, and the extent of their nation’s worsening problems.
"In this devastating book on Iraq and, by implication, much of the Arab world, Zaid Al-Ali brings together the best practices of a lawyer, constitutional practitioner and independent analyst. He identifies the terrible combination of problems in recent Arab state-building due to both indigenous miscreants and foreign arrogance and militarism. The book is painful reading sometimes, but is absolutely essential reading for a clear understanding of why the Arab world is in the throes of so many citizen revolts against domestic and foreign tyranny."—Rami G. Khouri, Director, Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs, American University of Beirut
"In this fascinating story of Iraq’s first decade following the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, Zaid al-Ali merges a technocrat’s expert knowledge with a patriot’s zeal to expose the corruption, incompetence and malfeasance that have brought reconstruction to a virtual standstill and governance to the breaking point. He infuses his distressing analysis with insightful anecdotes based on his own experience as part of the rebuilding effort, in which he played a somewhat invisible yet important part, and contends that when the foundations – notably the 2005 constitution – are flawed, the structure erected on top of them is no less so, to deleterious effect. The way forward, he suggests, is to pursue a reset – a fundamental overhaul that Iraq’s current rulers are certain to reject and resist, and to therefore ground this effort in the stratum of mid- to senior-level state officials who are highly skilled, tireless, and imbued with a strong sense of duty to their country, and who have kept things going, incredibly, as the politicians have made an utter mess of things. This book is one of the very few in-depth studies to emerge from inside Iraq’s system so far this past decade, and hands-down the best".—Joost Hiltermann, Chief Operating Officer at the International Crisis Group, and author of A Poisonous Affair: America, Iraq, and the Gassing of Halabja
Publication Date: February 18, 2014
