In 1920, a massive uprising took place against British occupation of Mesopotamia. This initiated a struggle for democracy that pitted nationalist leaders against the British, their local political allies and a newly-installed monarchy.
Iraq's Democratic Moment is the story of that long and passionate struggle of the Iraqi people to achieve the liberal democracy promised them by the constitution of their newly-created country. In 1936, a coup d'etat brought the nationalist forces to power amid great public jubilation, only for the coup to fail when its leaders fell out among themselves. In...