The Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait: Saddam Hussein His State and International Power PoliticsBloomsbury Academic, 1996 - 139 sider The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1991 which led to the Gulf War has given rise to a number of theories which endeavour to explain the underlying causes of the war. In this study the author questions whether it was the personality of Saddam Hussein, the structure of the Iraqi state or the workings of the international political system which made war between Iraq and the American-led alliance inevitable. He examines these three theories in turn, first showing how Saddam's personality and upbringing includes many features which psychologists have detected in the personal backgrounds of other prominent dictators who have launched wars. Secondly, he analyzes the distinctive internal weaknesses of the Iraqi state - sectarian tension between Sunnis and Shi'ites, ethnic conflict between Arabs and Kurds, economic weakness following the debilitating Iran-Iraq war, all presided over by impotent political institutions born of a repressive state machine. The author shows how the country's political elite resorted to scape-goating, and thus a belligerent foreign policy. |
Referanser til denne boken
Iraq and the Second Gulf War: State Building and Regime Security Mohammad-Mahmoud Mohamedou Ingen forhåndsvisning tilgjengelig - 1998 |