Since 2003 and following the U.S.-led invasion, Iraq witnessed tremendous changes to its political, social, and economic structures, and this book critically maps recent popular protests that engulfed the country and led to the death of thousands of civilian protesters. It delves into the nuances of the Iraqi socio-political context and offers a brief historical overview of political activism by investigating the internal structure of activism in the country as well as the regional and international dimensions. The study involves critical ethnographic research including interviews with Iraqi activists, social media analysis, Arabic and English news analysis, as well as in-depth assessment and contextualization of the Iraqi protests. The author argues that there is a need to call the protests an “Iraqi Spring” because of the country's unique historical, demographic, and political circumstances.
- Cover
- Table of Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- 1 Political Activism and the Iraqi National Identity
- 2 The Socio-Political Context After 2003
- 3 Social Media, News, and Information Operations in Iraq
- 4 Political Activism and Civil Resistance in the 2019 Protests
- 5 Iraqiness in Political Activism: The Case of the 2011 and 2019 Protests
- Conclusion
- Index
- List of Figures
- Figure 1.1 Nine Images Taken from Twitter Indicating the Need to Maintain Iraq’s Independence from Foreign Powers, Especially Iran and the United States
- Figure 3.1 The Frequency of Iranian Trolls’ Tweets Referencing Iraq
- Figure 3.2 Twelve Sample Visuals Posted by Iranian Trolls to Target Haider Al-Ibadi
- Figure 3.3 Five Sample Visuals Sent by Iranian Trolls to Attack Saudi Arabia
- Figure 3.4 Nine Sample Visuals by Iranian Trolls Targeting Human Rights Activists and Ahmed Al-Basheer
- Figure 3.5 Four Sample Visuals Sent by Iranian Trolls to Attack the United States
- Figure 3.6 Three Sample Visuals by Iranian Trolls Ridiculing Sunni Politicians and Attacking the Sunni Community
- Figure 3.7 Four Sample Visuals by Iranian Trolls Showing Support and Praise for Some Iraqi Shiite Leaders and Militias
- Figure 3.8 A Street Protest in Baghdad with the Same Photoshopped Twitter Image Used Against Plasschaert
- Figure 3.9 Nine Images from a Social Media Campaign to Pressure the Iraqi Government to Sign the China Deal
- Figure 3.10 A Sample of 16 Twitter Profile Images of Ayraqy Network
- Figure 3.11 Five Visuals from Sabereen News Targeting Iraqi Protesters
- Figure 3.12 Nine Visuals by Sabereen News Attacking Various Iraqi Politicians
- Figure 3.13 Six Visuals from Sabereen Telegram Channel About the War in Ukraine
- Figure 4.1 The Protesters’ Demands on Top of Tayarran Tunnel Near Tahrir Square
- Figure 4.2 Graffiti Inside Tayarran Tunnel Near Tahrir Square*
- Figure 5.1a, b, and c The Frequency of Social Media Posts Referencing 18 Hashtags on the Iraqi Protests (top, Twitter (Figure 5.1a); middle, Facebook (Figure 5.1b); bottom, Instagram (Figure 5.1c))
- Figure 5.2a and b The Self-Proclaimed Geographical Locations of Facebook Accounts Discussing the Protest
- Figure 5.3 The Monthly Distribution of Emotional Reactions on Facebook
- Figure 5.4 Link Analysis of the Word “Iran” as Used in Facebook Messages
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