Iraq's Road to War

Collected from papers presented at a 1991 conference sponsored by the University of Haifa's Jewish-Arab Center, these 18 articles by Middle East specialists deal with Iraqi domestic and foreign policy during a period encompassing the Iraq-Iran War (1980-88) and the Persian Gulf War (1990-91). The first half of the collection explores the dynamics that led to the invasion of Kuwait, the history of Iraq's military establishment and its role in internal politics, and the implications of the Gulf War for the world oil market. The second half includes papers on Iraq's relations with other countries and political entities: one chapter each for Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, the Palestine Liberation Organization, Iran, the U.S. and Western Europe. Scholarly and of interest primarily to specialists, the book offers a comprehensive analysis of Iraq and its foreign relations in recent history. Baram is senior lecturer in the Department of Middle East History at the University of Haifa; Rubin is a fellow at the Johns Hopkins University Foreign Policy Institute. (Jan.)