Red Star Over Iraq: Iraqi Communism Before Saddam

Product Description


Recent outbreaks of sectarian and ethnic violence have thrown Iraq's stability into doubt, suggesting the country's politics are a farce and its political parties are nothing more than the protectors of ethnosectarian interests. Because of the artificiality of the Iraqi state and its absence of deep-seated political institutions, skeptics fear the country is destined to revert to primordialism, yet Iraq's present situation is largely the result of Saddam Hussein's infamous rule over the past three decades, exacerbated by the deprivations of international sanctions.
Johan Franzén underscores the role of these destabilizing factors, arguing that before Hussein's ascent to power, diverse parties representing a variety of ideological platforms characterized Iraqi government. The largest and most important of these groups was the Iraqi Communist Party (ICP), the only true cross-sectarian party in Iraqi history drawing support from all of Iraq's communities. From its inception in 1934 to its demise at the hands of Hussein in 1979, the ICP continuously resisted various regimes and spread communist ideology throughout Iraq. At times the party achieved considerable success, though it ultimately failed to seize absolute power. Red Star Over Iraq analyzes this rich history to project a different picture of a future Iraq.


Review


Johan Franzén breaks new ground in our understanding of the Iraqi Communist Party (ICP), the most important political movement in modern Iraq. Using numerous interviews and new sources, many of which are unpublished, Franzén demonstrates the ICP's nonsectarian nature and emphasis on social justice, which attracted both the Iraqi intelligentsia and the general public. While the party's demise at the hands of Saddam Hussein is well known, Franzén suggests its legacy can still serve to promote a more just, socially inclusive, and democratic Iraq in the future.


Johan Franzén has written a richly researched and perceptive analysis of the definitive role the Iraqi Communist Party played in the country's politics before 1979. He explains the revolutionary rise and violent decline of the party, placing them at the centre of Iraq's socioeconomic transformation during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Anyone seeking a thorough understanding of the evolution of Iraqi politics, from the declaration of the state in 1920 to the seizure of power by Saddam Hussein in 1979, should read this book.


An original study displaying a sound knowledge of Iraqi history, based on the appropriate primary sources, and making an important contribution to our understanding of the complex relationship between the Soviet Union, supposedly 'progressive' third-world states, and the communist movements within such states.


One of the great virtues of Johan Franzén's study lies in its interweaving of the history of the Iraqi Communist Party with the history of Iraq itself. He succeeds in bringing out, through exemplary and detailed research, the ways in which the party's turbulent inner political debates and struggles did not prevent it from appealing to a wide swath of Iraqi society. In doing so, Franzén reminds us of the courage and imagination of the thousands of Iraqis who believed that the ICP held out a better prospect for the country than strident nationalism or sectarian division.


No college-level Middle East collection should be without it! (
Midwest Book Review)


About the Author


Johan Franzén is Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Middle East Politics at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich, UK. He holds a Ph.D. in Middle East history from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, and has published extensively on the politics and history of the Arab world.