Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POL3125: The History and Political Development of Iraq

This module descriptor refers to the 2017/8 academic year.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Week 1: General Presentation of the Module, and Iraq before Iraq.
Week 2: The British Mandate: State Formation, Land and People of Modern Iraq.
Week 3: Monarchical Iraq, 1932-1958.

Week 4: Republican Iraq I: Qassim and the Arab Nationalists, 1958-68.

Week 5: Republican Iraq II: Ba‘th Party Rule, 1968-1990.

Week 6: Iraq’s Economy I (1970s- end 1980s): the Rise of a New State Bourgeoisie under Ba‘th Rule.

Week 7: The Gulf War and its Consequences: Sanctions, Intifada and KRG Formation.

Week 8: Saddam Hussein’s Strategy of Survival: Tribal/Religious Revival, Clannish Policies and Elites’ Management.

Week 9: Iraq’s Economy II (1990s): Sanctions and Economic Breakdown.

Week 10: Regime Change, Iraq post-2003.

Week 11: Conclusion: Iraq Dictatorship or Democracy?

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
221280

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities22 Lectures and seminars
Guided Independent study128 Directed learning and private study outside the classroom.

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).