- Title
- Reconstruction and religion: the case of Iraq, Ayatollahs and local ownership
- Creator
- Azeez, Hawzhin
- Relation
- Not So Strange Bedfellows p. 117-132
- Relation
- The Nexus of Politics and Religion in the 21st Century
- Relation
- http://www.cambridgescholars.com/not-so-strange-bedfellows-14
- Publisher
- Cambridge Scholars Publishing
- Resource Type
- book chapter
- Date
- 2013
- Description
- The 2003-2011 invasion and subsequent reconstruction of Iraq by the United States presented the secularization theory with monumental epistemic and empirical challenges. The field of state reconstruction is a challenging area of study in political science; least of all for the continuously evolving nature of the field, often subject to shifting trends, variable societal demands and other environmental, economic and sociopolitical factors. Before proceeding any further it is necessary to clarify how the term "reconstruction" is understood in this chapter. "Reconstruction" encompasses both the state, as well as the society, as the two dominant actors in the processes of "fixing", "rehabilitating" or "developing" a nation-state. The main argument of this chapter highlights the importance of separating nation-building from state-building as two separate (yet linked) concepts rather than synonymous theories, as it currently stands within the field. In defining nation-building as distinct from state-building, through the analysis of religious actors, this chapter also posits the importance of focusing just as actively on producing nation-building and society-orientated policies (through promoting local ownership and legitimacy) designed to address long held grievances. Hence the terms "state-building" and "nation-building" are not treated as synonymous.
- Subject
- Iraq; religion; United States; reconstruction
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1341303
- Identifier
- uon:28709
- Identifier
- ISBN:9781443848008
- Language
- eng
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