Start Date:

1st-May-2008

End Date:

31st-October-2009

Funding Organization:

The International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada

Description:

The “Politics of Tribalism in post-Saddam Iraq” Project main objective is manifold. It aims to enhance professional knowledge and fill an important gap in the existing Iraq literature. While the Influence of the transformation of tribes in the political processes and political parties in Iraq is acknowledged only lukewarm research has been undertaken with reference to the dynamics of such influence. Given the composition of the current Iraqi parliament, tribal affiliation and loyalty is currently not visible as factor in decision making process. On the other Hand the question of insurgency and counter – insurgency is perceived but still little attention is paid to the issue of the sectarian dimension of violence. The major political blocks in the parliament are based on sectarian and ethnic identity including Sunni and Shia division and Arab-Kurdish identities. These same identities prevent the tribal structure and identitys from emerging as a factor of political power.

The project consists of two main components which will tackle the Question of political pluralism, the role of the civil society organizations and the relationship between the state and the society, particularly where the state is a totalitarian one, and where the society is divided within itself.