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This is the first serious attempt to understand modern Iraq through a close examination of the political discourse used by the Ba'th regime and its leader, Saddam Hussein. By analyzing political terms, concepts, and idioms as disseminated through the official Iraqi mouthpieces, author Ofra Bengio illuminates Iraq's political culture and the events that these expressions have both reflected and shaped. Not only does this study add to our understanding of the "Saddam enigma;" it also offers a more universal truth: that under any regime, political culture is built on public discourse. Saddam's Word will be of much interest to students of the contemporary Middle East, as well as to all other observers of Saddam Hussein and his regime.
How does the official political discourse of the Ba'th regime in Iraq reveal the underlying mechanisms of Saddam Hussein's power and the broader political culture of the nation? Author Ofra Bengio, a senior research fellow specializing in Middle Eastern history, utilizes a rigorous linguistic and historical framework to examine the rhetoric disseminated by Iraqi state media. By deconstructing specific political terms, idioms, and concepts, the text argues that the regime's language was not merely propaganda but a structural tool used to shape reality, consolidate authority, and define the state's ideological trajectory.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Experts recognize this work as a foundational text for understanding the internal logic of the Ba'thist regime through its own linguistic lens. Scholars frequently note the academic density of the prose and the author's meticulous attention to the nuances of Arabic political terminology.
Page Count:
270
Publication Date:
2002-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190288132
ISBN-13:
9780190288136
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