The Iraqi Identity: An Alternative History of Identity in Iraq

The issue of identity in Iraq has been debated usually through the lens of the artificiality assumption. This mainstream thesis assumes an absence or weakness of the state/national identity, and prioritizes sub-state and supra-state identities. This article examines the existence, scope and content of the national identity in Iraq through its historical and current manifestations. It questions whether the Iraqi identity has constituted an alternative dimension of belonging among the multiple identities of Iraq, in which ways this identity is imagined and constructed, and how it is performed in social and political domains. In this context, it argues that an examination of the Iraqi identity gives an alternative reading of the history of identity in Iraq. Such a reading draws four interrelated conclusions: First, the Iraqi identity has been an important ideological/cultural factor in Iraqi history. Second, Iraqiness has often been in interaction with other identity dimensions. Third, there have been significant differentiations of the imaginations of the Iraqi identity depending on the period and actors. Last, the Iraqi identity has extended beyond the policies of the state and elites, and has expanded into the Iraqi society