Iraqi Perception of the Past, Present, and Future

Investigators:   Mansoor Moaddel, Ronald F. Inglehart, Mark Tessler

The swift breakdown of the all-encompassing administrative and repressive apparatus of the Saddam regime and the American-British occupation of Iraq have created distinctly new social conditions in the country. This project intends to explore and explain the effect of these conditions on the worldviews of the Iraqi public.

Its aims are: (1) to explore key features of the worldviews and the long-term concerns of the Iraqi public under the current conditions of political uncertainty, economic difficulties, and social tensions; (2) to understand the similarities and differences between these worldviews and those of the Islamic publics of the neighboring countries where survey data are available; (3) to understand how Iraqis assess, rethink, and re-form their conceptions of self and others in the coming years; (4) to examine how this re-examination is related to the overall cultural, economic, and administrative policies of the occupying authorities and the ruling elite; (5) to explore how the new political development may weaken/strengthen the development of secular feminism and female identity; and (6) to identify, in light of the existing comparative historical analyses of ideology in the Islamic world, the processes that may hinder/promote (a) the rise of Arab nationalism, (b) Iraqi territorial nationalism/supra-tribal nationalism, (c) pan-Islamic nationalism, and (d) tribal nationalism/ethnic identity.

To address these issues, this project requests funds from the National Science Foundation to carry out a series of longitudinal national value surveys in the country every two years. It also intends to collect data on the policies and discourses of the occupying authorities, the leaders of religious and ethnic groups, and indigenous political elite in order to assess the connection between these factors and the people's value orientation.

The significance of Iraq: Iraq has historical, religious, and geopolitical significance. The country was the seat of the great Babylonian civilization. It hosts two of the most revered shrines in Shi'ism. It is one of the world's largest oil reserves. And it is occupied by American and British forces. Knowledge of Iraqi society provided by this survey will certainly be useful in contributing to policy, enhancing understanding between the American and Iraqi publics, and providing the insight into the Iraqi society that is necessary for building a post-Saddam democratic polity. This project will also have far-reaching implications for the social scientific study of the relationships social transformation, state formation, foreign occupation, and the development of culture and identity formation.

Funding Period: 10/01/2004 to 09/30/2006

PSC Research Themes:

Middle East (Regional Studies)
Values, Attitudes, Beliefs (Ideational Factors)
Politics (Ideational Factors)


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