Publication

This is a transcript of a keynote address by Sami Zubaida, Emeritus Professor at the University of London, on the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. In his speech, Sami Zubaida traces how the vision of the Iraqi nation came to be shaped and talks about the effect of Ba’athist policies on this narrative. According to Zubaida, despite waves of persecution and subordination, the influence of national classes beyond sectarian, communalist and religious control was felt in the 2010 elections, when a considerable body of the electorate voted outside the sectarian boxes.