Iraq in a Changing Geopolitical Context

Since its independence in 1932, Iraq’s political trajectory reflected and contrib-
uted to creating a regional order in constant change, influenced by both intra-
regional dynamics and extra-regional ones. The chapter offers an overview of the
geopolitics in and of Iraq by situating it at different geographical scales. By first
framing Iraq within its regional context, it highlights its position in relation to key
events that represented critical junctures in the structuring of an evolving regional
order. At the international level, it pays particular attention to three critical events
that projected Iraq at the center of international agendas: the First Gulf War, the
2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq, and the 2014 campaign against the
so-called Islamic State. Lastly, the chapter turns to the domestic level, in relation
to which it problematizes the Iraqi state opening up the analysis to a less-rigid
state-centric perspective