The intellectual roots of the Iraqi national identity and the future dimensions After U.S. withdrawal

Abstract

This research is interested in studying the historical roots of the Iraqi national identity; therefore the conflict of identities in Iraq is not a new problem, but it is rooted since the establishment of the state of Iraq, and has appeared after 2003 and increased after the U.S. withdrawal. So, this research focuses on the roots of Iraqi national identity since the establishment of the state of Iraq until 2003, and the difficulty of forming an Iraqi national identity within Iraqi society because of the different visions of the political elites that ruled Iraq until the fall of the previous political system. Despite the attempts to establish a unified Iraqi national identity, but these attempts failas a result of that difference. The research also deals with the Iraqi national identity after 2003 and the rise of three sub-national identities, the national, the religious and the sectarian identities which dominate the Iraqi national identity, a matter that leadsto a dispute within the Iraqi society. The research addresses these problems and the steps to be followed to reinforcea unified national identity for all Iraqis whichis above the sub-identities that have emerged and led to dispute.