The Iraq War: Causes And Consequences

by Rick Fawn (Editor), Raymond Hinnebusch (Editor)

While the war in Afghanistan saw most industrial countries back the US-led campaign, the subsequent war in Iraq has profoundly divided international opinion, and likely represents a watershed in the post? Cold War international order. "The Iraq War" examines the full range of explanations of the conflict, as well as its significance for the Middle East, for key international relationships, and for the future of the international system. The authors critically assess the foreign-policy decisions of both global and regional actors. What policies were adopted, and against what opposition? What state interests were served or compromised in the process? What are the likely longer-term consequences of each country's position? Addressing these questions, as well as broader issues of regional stability, global political economy, and the changing nature of warfare, they offer an in-depth, systematic analysis that brings clarity to this complex subject.

357 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 2006

Reviews

[Ned Conway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent collection of essays from leading international academics on, as the title aptly captures, "the causes and consequences" of the war. HOWEVER, this is not another Cobra II or State of Denial (though those are excellent books). These essays focus more on the impact of the war on the international political system, e.g. how it fairs for Russia, or what this means for Saudi-US relations, or the implications of pre-emption for international law and ethics. Not light reading, but very interesting and very up to date. The writers are true academics...you will not find these guys on Fox News or CNN because they are too busy immersed in the cultures they rightly claim to be experts on.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to see each country's perceived perspective on the war in Iraq, but definitely felt like many of the shared analysis of why state's did or did not back the US coalition and the problems with the US' decisions began to feel repetitive, especially in the concluding final chapters. That being said, I appreciated the way that those final chapters synthesized the specific country/country dynamics into a look at international relations theory in general and the way that the Iraq war challenges or supports key assumptions about international relations as posited by specific theoretical appraoches.