What was Britain’s legacy in Iraq?
  • Britain 'founded' Iraq post WWI
  • Pre WWI - Ottomans (Turks) government 'Iraq'
  • British worried about Germany extending influence into the Persain Gulf
  • Importance of Persian (Iranian) oil fields
  • Britain invades and occupies southern Iraq
  • By end of WWI Iraq under British control
  • What to do post war? Incorporate or create a League Mandate?
  • Self-Government in 1932 - But British influence remained strong
  • Britain created the 'boundaries' for modern day Iraq
  • But - how do you make people feel part of a 'state'?
  • British 'rule' via 'trusted' elites - not government by 'consent'
  • Replicated after independence and under Saddam Hussein (Centralised control)