Understanding Iraq’s Persistent Domestic Instability: A Revisit to the 2003 Iraq War and the Effect of the US Foreign Policy.

Abstract

After the terrorist attacks of 9/11 in the heart of the United States (US), the US policymakers implemented a new doctrine known as the Bush Doctrine and declared war on any country in the international system which has a connection with terrorism or shelters the terrorists. In line with this, Iraq became one of “the target countries” on the axis of the new US doctrine. They took a further step and invaded Iraq with their allies in 2003 by claiming that they would liberate the Iraqi people from the authoritarian regime and bring democracy to Iraq. Toppling Saddam Hussein, the US implemented a new political regime in the country. In the post-Saddam regime, Iraq’s new ruling elites were mainly chosen from the Shiites. On the other hand, the Sunnis stayed at the periphery of the emerging Iraqi political system. The US political manoeuvres triggered ethnic and sectarian (ethno-sectarian) segregation as well as a tense political environment in Iraq. To put it clearly, the practices of the US foreign policy in the aftermath of the 2003 Iraq war/invasion not only inflamed the conflicts/divide between the major Islamic sects (the Sunni and the Shiite Muslims) but also widened “the ethnic rift”, mainly between the Kurds and the Arabs in the country. The ethno-sectarian segregation among the Iraqi people highly affected the domestic political stability in the country. Depending on the scientific data in the field, this research has mainly revealed that the 2013 US-led military invasion/Iraq War and the US policy towards Iraq had an impact on the persistent domestic instability in Iraq.