1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910797673403321

Autore

Faust Aaron M.

Titolo

The Ba'thification of Iraq : Saddam Hussein's totalitarianism / / by Aaron M. Faust

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Austin, [Texas] : , : University of Texas Press, , 2015

©2015

ISBN

1-4773-0558-0

Edizione

[First edition.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (321 p.)

Disciplina

956.7044

Soggetti

Political parties - Iraq

Totalitarianism

Iraq Politics and government 1979-1991

Iraq Politics and government 1991-2003

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

The inculcation of loyalty -- The origins of Husseini Bacthist totalitarianism -- Husseini Bacthism -- Culturalization -- The leader and the party -- The party state -- The Bacthification of society -- Terror -- Enticement.

Sommario/riassunto

Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq as a dictator for nearly a quarter century before the fall of his regime in 2003. Using the Ba’th party as his organ of meta-control, he built a broad base of support throughout Iraqi state and society. Why did millions participate in his government, parrot his propaganda, and otherwise support his regime when doing so often required betraying their families, communities, and beliefs? Why did the “Husseini Ba’thist” system prove so durable through uprisings, two wars, and United Nations sanctions? Drawing from a wealth of documents discovered at the Ba’th party’s central headquarters in Baghdad following the US-led invasion in 2003, The Ba’thification of Iraq analyzes how Hussein and the party inculcated loyalty in the population. Through a grand strategy of “Ba’thification,” Faust argues that Hussein mixed classic totalitarian means with distinctly Iraqi methods to transform state, social, and cultural institutions into Ba’thist entities, and the public and private choices



Iraqis made into tests of their political loyalty. Focusing not only on ways in which Iraqis obeyed, but also how they resisted, and using comparative examples from Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Russia, The Ba’thification of Iraq explores fundamental questions about the roles that ideology and culture, institutions and administrative practices, and rewards and punishments play in any political system.