Okan Tombul | American University (original) (raw)
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This paper is an attempt to study the emergence of ISIS in Iraq with an economic approach to the ... more This paper is an attempt to study the emergence of ISIS in Iraq with an economic approach to the “root causes” of terrorism. After providing a comprehensive overview of the terrorism literature, I make a case study analysis in which I compare the number of terrorist activities conducted by ISIS militants in the pre-war, war, and post-war Iraq, aiming to get a more complete picture of the complex phenomenon of terrorism with respect to economic deprivation and political transformation. I find a causal relationship between ISIS terrorist acts and political instability in Iraq since 2003, thus arguing that the U.S. has contributed to the present situation in Iraq through several policies it implemented after the occupation, such as de-Baathification, and the transformation from the authoritarian regime of Saddam Hussein to a constitutional federal republic. I also stress the role of the 2006-2007 divisions along the Sunni-Shiite lines, as well as the sectarian Maliki policies after the withdrawal of U.S. military from Iraq, in the emergence of ISIS. Indeed, I argue that the withdrawal of U.S. military in 2011, followed by the Maliki’s sectarian policies, prepared a suitable environment in which ISIS could remerge without being challenged by a superior military power. Although I do not find any strong link between terrorism and economic deprivation, I acknowledge that economic conditions may have a general explanatory relevance in many cases. In the case of Iraq, however, I conclude that political factors are more relevant to the emergence of ISIS than economic factors.
This paper is an attempt to study the emergence of ISIS in Iraq with an economic approach to the ... more This paper is an attempt to study the emergence of ISIS in Iraq with an economic approach to the “root causes” of terrorism. After providing a comprehensive overview of the terrorism literature, I make a case study analysis in which I compare the number of terrorist activities conducted by ISIS militants in the pre-war, war, and post-war Iraq, aiming to get a more complete picture of the complex phenomenon of terrorism with respect to economic deprivation and political transformation. I find a causal relationship between ISIS terrorist acts and political instability in Iraq since 2003, thus arguing that the U.S. has contributed to the present situation in Iraq through several policies it implemented after the occupation, such as de-Baathification, and the transformation from the authoritarian regime of Saddam Hussein to a constitutional federal republic. I also stress the role of the 2006-2007 divisions along the Sunni-Shiite lines, as well as the sectarian Maliki policies after the withdrawal of U.S. military from Iraq, in the emergence of ISIS. Indeed, I argue that the withdrawal of U.S. military in 2011, followed by the Maliki’s sectarian policies, prepared a suitable environment in which ISIS could remerge without being challenged by a superior military power. Although I do not find any strong link between terrorism and economic deprivation, I acknowledge that economic conditions may have a general explanatory relevance in many cases. In the case of Iraq, however, I conclude that political factors are more relevant to the emergence of ISIS than economic factors.