Iraq in a Changing Geopolitical Context

Since its independence in 1932, Iraq’s political trajectory reflected and contributed to creating a regional order in constant change, influenced by both intra-regional dynamics and extra-regional ones. The chapter offers an overview of the geopolitics in and of Iraq by situating it at different geographical scales. By first framing Iraq within its regional context, it highlights its position in relation to key events that represented critical junctures in the structuring of an evolving regional order. At the international level, it pays particular attention to three critical events that projected Iraq at the center of international agendas: the First Gulf War, the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq, and the 2014 campaign against the so-called Islamic State. Lastly, the chapter turns to the domestic level, in relation to which it problematizes the Iraqi state opening up the analysis to a less-rigid state-centric perspective.