The United States and Iraq since 1979 : hegemony, oil, and war

GBS_insertPreviewButtonPopup('ISBN:9780748627684); This book represents the first comprehensive overview of the US-Iraqi relationship since 1979 and the first attempt to place the 2003 American invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq in that wider historical context. Using a modified version of World Systems Theory, the book places American policy toward Iraq at the centre of a number of dynamics, including America's dominant role in managing the world capitalist system, the fundamental importance of Persian Gulf oil to that system, and long-term change in the American political system. It argues that American policy towards Iraq since 1979 has been shaped above all by the importance of Persian Gulf oil to the world economy and the consequent need to restore America's position as regional hegemon and guarantor of the global oil supply, which had been destabilized by the Iranian revolution. It also emphasizes the role of American domestic politics and above all the 'conservative ascendancy' which brought George W. Bush to the presidency, as a critical factor in explaining the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Key Features Provides a comprehensive analysis of US-Iraqi relations from 1979 Demonstrates that the second Iraq War is a result of a longer historical process and not just the product of 9/11 and the War on Terror Deepens understanding of the underlying factors of US policy towards the Persian Gulf, and its oil Uses World Systems Theory to analyse US foreign policy This book represents the first comprehensive overview of the US-Iraqi relationship since 1979 and the first attempt to place the 2003 American invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq in that wider historical context.

Using a modified version of World Systems Theory, the book places American policy toward Iraq at the centre of a number of dynamics, including America's dominant role in managing the world capitalist system, the fundamental importance of Persian Gulf oil to that system, and long-term change in the American political system.

It argues that American policy towards Iraq since 1979 has been shaped above all by the importance of Persian Gulf oil to the world economy and the consequent need to restore America's position as regional hegemon and guarantor of the global oil supply, which had been destabilized by the Iranian revolution.

It also emphasizes the role of American domestic politics and above all the 'conservative ascendancy' which brought George W. Bush to the presidency, as a critical factor in explaining the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Key Features

* Provides a comprehensive analysis of US-Iraqi relations from 1979
* Demonstrates that the second Iraq War is a result of a longer historical process and not just the product of 9/11 and the War on Terror
* Deepens understanding of the underlying factors of US policy towards the Persian Gulf, and its oil
* Uses World Systems Theory to analyse US foreign policy This book examines American policy toward Iraq between 1979 and 2009. In that period American policy evolved through a series of stages: Initially, the Iranian Revolution and fear of an Iranian threat to America's regional allies and interests led to a ‘tilt’ toward Saddam Hussein's Iraq that then became a full-blown effort to co-opt Iraq as an American regional proxy. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 then precipitated a policy reversal and propelled Iraq to the status of regional enemy number one. The Bush administration sought to destroy the Iraqi threat in the 1991 Gulf War but left Saddam in power. The Clinton administration then sought to contain Iraq and its weapons of mass destruction programmes through the application of sanctions and weapons inspections. Finally, believing containment to have failed, and motivated and empowered by fears generated by the attacks of September 11 th 2001, the administration of George W. Bush sought to eliminate the Iraqi threat in the Iraq War of 2003, only to find no weapons of mass destruction and to become mired in a failing effort to transform Iraq into a beacon of democracy in the Middle East. The book explains this policy trajectory in terms of the American effort to restore a regional hegemonic position lost in 1979 and uses a theoretical framework that emphasises the American role in managing the global economy, the centrality of Persian Gulf oil to that role and long-term change in the American political system This book represents the first comprehensive overview of the US-Iraqi relationship since 1979 and the first attempt to place the 2003 American invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq in that wider historical context. Using a modified version of World Systems Theory, the book places American policy toward Iraq at the centre of a number of dynamics, including America's dominant role in managing the world capitalist system, the fundamental importance of Persian Gulf oil to that system, and long-term change in the American political system. It argues that American policy towards Iraq since 1979 has been shaped above all by the importance of Persian Gulf oil to the world economy and the consequent need to restore America's position as regional hegemon and guarantor of the global oil supply, which had been destabilized by the Iranian revolution. It also emphasizes the role of American domestic politics and above all the 'conservative ascendancy' which brought George W. Bush to the presidency, as a critical factor in explaining the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Key Features * Provides a comprehensive analysis of US-Iraqi relations from 1979 * Demonstrates that the second Iraq War is a result of a longer historical process and not just the product of 9/11 and the War on Terror * Deepens understanding of the underlying factors of US policy towards the Persian Gulf, and its oil * Uses World Systems Theory to analyse US foreign policy "

This book represents the first comprehensive overview of the US-Iraqi relationship since 1979 and the first attempt to place the 2003 American invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq in a wider historical context.

Using a modified version of World Systems Theory, the book places America's policy toward Iraq at the center of a number of dynamics, including America's dominant role in managing the world capitalist system, the fundamental importance of the Persian Gulf to that system, and long-term change in the American political system.

Steven Hurst argues that since 1979, American policy toward Iraq has been largely shaped by the importance of Persian Gulf oil to the world economy and the consequent need to restore America's position as a regional hegemon and guarantor of the global oil supply, which had been destabilized by the Iranian revolution. It also emphasizes the role of American domestic politics and above all the conservative ascendancy, which brought George W. Bush to the presidency, as a critical factor in explaining the 2003 invasion.

Edinburgh University Press

This book represents the first comprehensive overview of the US-Iraqi relationship since 1979 and the first attempt to place the 2003 American invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq in a wider historical context.

Using a modified version of World Systems Theory, the book places America's policy toward Iraq at the center of a number of dynamics, including America's dominant role in managing the world capitalist system, the fundamental importance of the Persian Gulf to that system, and long-term change in the American political system.

Steven Hurst argues that since 1979, American policy toward Iraq has been largely shaped by the importance of Persian Gulf oil to the world economy and the consequent need to restore America's position as a regional hegemon and guarantor of the global oil supply, which had been destabilized by the Iranian revolution. It also emphasizes the role of American domestic politics and above all the conservative ascendancy, which brought George W. Bush to the presidency, as a critical factor in explaining the 2003 invasion.

Provides a comprehensive overview of the US-Iraqi relationship since 1979 and places the 2003 American invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq in that wider historical context.