Virtual lecture series"Iraq 20 Years after the US Invasion: The Politics and memory of the transition from dic-tatorship and occupation”

4. April 2023, von Marianne Weis-Elsner

The US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003 was a watershed event in recent history. It ended the reign of one of the most brutal anciens régimes in the Middle East. Together with Afghanistan it marked the beginning of American “forever wars”, split Europe into an “old” and a “new” part, and shifted the regional power balance in favor of Iran. The impact on Iraq was profound. Outright dictatorship gave way to civil war and the construction of a hybrid regime that combined sectarianism and formally democratic institutions with rampant corruption and authoritarian forms of patronage. Yet the transition also opened new opportunities for Iraqi civil society to express its aspiration and grievances, including the politics of gender, minorities and memory. Economic sectors such as education, health care and natural resources underwent new developments and legal and governance structures were reformed. This virtual lecture series by internationally renowned experts gives an overview of developments since the invasion in 2003, discusses how they have shaped Iraqi society and gives an outlook on possible future pathways.

War and the Military Security Complex in Iraq 
Tuesday, 4 April 2023 | 6:00–7:15 p.m. (CEST)

Speakers:

“The U.S. Army and Iraqi Security Forces: Legacy and Rebuilding” Kate Tietzen-Wisdom (U.S. Army Center of Military History in Washington D.C., USA)
“Stand-Off Warfare since the 2003 Iraq War: Mercenaries, Drones, and Their Proliferation” Ibrahim Al-Marashi (California State University San Marcos, USA)
“Iraq: US Grand Strategy and the Unlearned Lessons of the Iraq War” James Russell (Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, USA)

Moderator: Eckart Woertz (Universität Hamburg und GIGA)

Registration is required under:

https://www.giga-hamburg.de/en/events/conferences-and-workshops/iraq-20-invasion-politics-memory-transition-dictatorship-occupation

Diaspora and Identity Politics
Tuesday, 11 April 2023 | 6:00–7:15 p.m. (CEST)

Speakers:

“A Saddam Cult in Jordan? How the 2003 Iraq war has re-shaped identity politics in the near abroad” André Bank (German Institute for Global and Area Studies, Germany)
“The Ba‘athist Struggle for the Iraqi Diaspora” Samuel Helfont (Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, USA)
“Twenty years of Iraqi History Since the Fall of Saddam Hussein through the Lens of the Iraq Chamber of the Hamburg Administrative Court” Nils Lukacs (Universität Hamburg, Germany)

Moderator: Ibrahim Al-Marashi (California State University San Marcos, USA)

The Politics of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Tuesday, 18 April 2023 | 6:00–7:15 p.m. (CEST)

Speakers:

“Institutionalising Islamism in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq” Ibrahim Malazada (Soran University, KRI, Iraq)
“Carrots and Sticks: The Kurdistan Regional Government’s Use of Minorities in the Drive for Statehood (2003–2017)” Gregory Kruczek (Penn State University, USA)
“Food Security, the Public Distribution System and Cooperation between Baghdad and Erbil” Eckart Woertz (GIGA and Universität Hamburg)

Moderator: Dastan Jasim (GIGA and University of Erlangen)

Register in advance for this webinar:
https://uni-hamburg.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hrFUwZuWTzmOrmktSe-CmA
Or an H.323/SIP room system:
H.323: 213.244.140.110 (Germany),
Meeting ID: 640 5716 0061 Passcode: 62881470
SIP: 64057160061"AT"fr.zmeu.us
Passcode: 62881470