About this episode
Elizabeth Tsurkov discusses the complexities of Iraq's political and social landscape following her experiences and research in the region.
Aimen's in the thick of it this week so isn't able to appear on the show. Sitting in for him is Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Russian-Israeli researcher and analyst, and a doctoral student at Princeton University. During field research in Iraq in 2023, she was kidnapped by Kata'ib Hezbollah and held in captivity for over two years, suffering torture and solitary confinement. In what we hope will be the first of many appearances on Conflicted, Elizabeth discusses: Saddam Hussein’s faith campaign and the rise of Shia religious politics in Iraq The Sadrist movement in Iraq and Muqtada al-Sadr The politicisation of sectarian identity in post-2003 Iraq Iraqi militias as criminal-political enterprises engaged in in theft, extortion, oil smuggling, and dollar smuggling The difference between Iraqi militias and Lebanese Hezbollah The impact of militia rule on ordinary civilian life Iraq’s extreme inequality despite its oil and gas wealth The 2003 Iraq War and the debate over American responsibility Iraqi elite agency and the failures of Iraq’s political class The 2010 Iraqi election crisis and Nouri al-Maliki’s return to power The Iraqi constitution and the failure of constitutional democracy…
People in this episode
Host: Aimen
Guest: Elizabeth Tsurkov
Topics covered
- Iraq's political landscape
- Shia religious politics
- Militia rule in Iraq
- Sectarian identity
- Impact of oil wealth
- American influence in Iraq
- Iran-Iraq relations
Keywords
- Iraq
- militias
- Saddam Hussein
- Muqtada al-Sadr
- Nouri al-Maliki
- oil wealth
- sectarian identity
- Iran
- Kata'ib Hezbollah
- American influence
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Kata'ib Hezbollah, Princeton University
Places: Iraq, Iran
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