Iraq’s Sectarian Disputes: Causes and Consequences

Iraq’s Sectarian Disputes: Causes and Consequences

Dr.Sami Calawy

Published in ‘Orientalia’ 2/2007, New Bulgarian University

Abstract

Based on the theory of ‘securitization’, which is formulated by Copenhagen’s School for Security Studies (CSSS), the research attempts to explain the roots and development of the Iraqi recent sectarian conflict, which claims hundreds of thousands of lives. It is concluded that the sectarian dispute from which the Iraqi society suffers dates back to the 7^th. century but it has been exploited in many different phases of the country’s history by many different actors in order to achieve political objectives. During some periods, the disputes have been turned into violence and terrorism. The brutality of the conflict varies with ideological and political orientations of the struggling actors. The regional and global powers have always played significant roles in triggering sectarian disputes to divided the country’s population and then rule it in accordance with their policies.