Since its emergence in 1921 Iraq has proved to be fragile. Unbalanced political structures have caused bloody and semi-permanent confrontations between the central power, controlled principally by a minority group of Sunni Arabs and the other ethnic and religious groups (Shi'i, Kurds, Chaldeans, Turcomans and Iranians). Internally, violent struggles for power have pushed the regime towards dictatorship and systematic repression, moves which have been unfavourable for the development of the country. Internationally, Iraq's oil wealth has enabled it to become a military power and embark on the disastrous war against Iran 1980 - 88 and the invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Both military operations brought in their wake ruin and misery for Iraq and other countries in the region. The importance of Iraq is undeniable and this collective work brings together scholars in Britain. France and Germany who conceived the joint project of a conference to study the evolution of relations between society and political power in contemporary Iraq and the country's relations with other states in the region in the hope of giving readers a better understanding of contemporary Mesopotamia.

Derek Hopwood is a Lecturer in Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oxford, and Director of St Antony's College Middle East Center.

Habib Ishow is Chargee de Recherche at IREMAN in Aix-en-Provence.

Thomas Koszinowski is a Researcher at the Deutsches Orient-lnstitut in Hamburg.