Abstract
This article focuses on the failure of the post-2003 social contract in Iraq. It relies on extensive primary data collected in all of Iraq's 19 provinces through focus groups. It develops an analytical framework based on five core elements (corruption, services, security, economy, and governance), that can be applied to the assessment of the state of a social contract. The article argues that the steady decline of the social contract has fueled Iraqis’ resentment and discontent with the ruling elites and inspired their calls to move beyond sectarian divides toward addressing the most pressing issues facing Iraq.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 415-433 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 19 May 2023 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 8 Aug 2023 |
Bibliographical note
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Funder
The fieldwork for this publication was made possible through support provided by the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP), Iraq.Keywords
- Social contract
- Iraq
- governance
- society
Themes
- Governance, Leadership and Trust
- Peace and Conflict
- Social Movements and Contentious Politics