Dr. Saad Abdul Razzak Hussain*
THE POLITICAL ROLE OF CITIES’
POOR IN IRAQ**
Throughout the past six decades, Iraq witnessed high rates of urbanization compared to other countries around the world1. The heavy immigration from the country to towns left profound impacts and led to the emergence of some phenomenal problems such as the housing problem; crowdedness of cities; high crime rates; deterioration of social services - health, education ... etc.
All this had a significant impact on the cultural level as the modern urban life2 was retrogressing as regards the traditional rural values and standards. In other words, the cultures of the urban middle classes retrogressed in favor of the culture of poor categories from rural origins. Politically, this phenomenon has marginalized the citizen's role in our country as people lost several political rights and turned into furious groups who only understand the language of violence. This forced them to be affiliated to groups that call for realization of their objectives by force which negatively affected the current political and democratic process.
This paper addresses the political results of urbanization in terms of the overcrowdedness of rural migrants in poor districts surrounding or near the center of big cities - districts which lack basic services particularly health ones.
Those who immigrate to big cities constitute, through living in ghettos isolated from other suburbs particularly middle class ones, a sub-culture different from both urban and rural cultures. These categories are independent and do not belong to the urban classes at the social level. They are mainly characterized by their transitional nature, thus they will transform in the future to be basic classes in the city.
This paper shall also address how these social categories turned into political powers that affect the current political process in our country.
1. Historical And Theoretical Aspects Of Urbanization Concept:
Urbanization was associated with the European industrialization which emerged in England in the middle of the 18th century. Industrialization promoted rural immigration to cities in need of labor and at the same time imposed a new pattern for social relations appropriate to the modern industrialized community. Louis Wirth, the US Sociologist, defined urbanization as: "replacement of primitive relations with secondary relations; weakening the affinity bonds; deterioration of the social importance of family and neighborhood; and weakening the traditional bases of social solidarity".3 George Zemel, the German Sociologist, declared that the increase in the population size leads to qualitative change in their social relations according to daily life experiences. “It is well established that a sizable group has to develop forms and means appropriate for these groups. On the other hand, it is well recognized that smaller groups have characteristics of individual interaction that inevitably disappear if such groups grow bigger”.4
Sociology, in the beginning, addressed this duality and expressed two kinds of communities: small and big sized communities; rural and urban communities; and pre-industrialization and industrialized communities. Fredinalad Twins, the German Sociologist, referred to this duality as local group and community; Emil Dorkaim referred to it as automatic and organic solidarity; and Garles Coli referred to it as primitive and secondary groups.
The successive development of the industrialized community; using modern technology in agriculture; concentration of population in cities; and decrease of the number of workers in the agricultural sector have together led to the fact that urbanization governs the modern community relations. The duality between urban and rural areas has ceased and the urban relations and values won. Rural community with the traditional sense ceased to exist as it, if we could say that, has turned into an urbanized rural community. Thus, its population is small compared to city population and most of them are city residents who came here for relaxation and recreation. The percentage of residents working in agriculture does not exceed 3-5% of the total population.
Urbanization has taken another direction in the Third World countries as “cities developed completely different from industrialized countries.” 5 The increase in the population was not accompanied by the urban control over the living style; on the contrary, urbanization was replaced by rural values and cultures; in other words, cities were ruralized. Heavy rural immigration to cities; failure of agricultural sector; and absence of industry made rural immigrants keep their culture, songs, values and spread them in all tracks of city communities.
It has been difficult to describe the current urbanization process in the Third World cities using prevailing concepts which made some researchers come up with new concepts including hyper-urbanization or over-urbanization which refer to the rapid urban population growth without industrial economy development which leads to poor urban services; massive unemployment and abject poverty; deterioration of living standards; social deviation; political and cultural tensions; and housing and crowdedness problems.6 The report of "World Community Affairs Department" Committee summarized the urbanization problem in the Third World countries as follows: urbanization rates are not compatible with industrialization rates because “cities should attract population in a stage where their economic status could provide job opportunities; housing; sanitary; and other basic services. Eventually, this leads to urban deterioration; successive social tensions and crimes; and other problems”.7
2. The Magnitude Of Urbanization Phenomenon In Iraq:
Iraq is one of the countries that witnessed high levels of urbanization. The Iraqi urbanization rates exceeded the developing countries' rates.8 Thus, the urban population didn't exceed 25% in 1930; however, it reached about 75% in 1995.9 According to population estimates in 2003, urban population reached 177236933 out of total population 26340227 - i.e. 67%.10
The Iraqi people have lived in three different social environments: nomadic, rural and urban. Attractions of Gulf countries through money, social prestige and job opportunities made the nomads, who worked in the agricultural sector, disappear from Iraq. Nomads constituted 5% of total population in 1930, but this percentage disappeared during the following decades.
Urbanization phenomenon has taken significant dimensions ever since mid last century. Mr. Fenelon, Senior Statistician in Iraq in 1957 mentioned that: "a new type of instability emerged, immigration from the country to cities, which has started to affect rural communities. Almost in each province, there is a tendency that main cities may get bigger at the expense of villages".11 Large immigration between 1947 -1957 was estimated at about “half a million people who left the provinces in which they were born to other provinces”. Baghdad's share was about 200 thousand immigrants, i.e. 40% of total immigrants; Basra's share was 28 thousand immigrants, 5% of total immigrants. Most immigrants in this period were from Missan from which 68 thousand immigrated to Baghdad and 18 thousand to Basra. “The south six provincess - Qote, Al-Hela, Karbalaa, Al-Dewania, Al-Amara, Al-Nasseria - lost 169 thousand persons”.12 The number of rural immigrants to Baghdad alone during 1957 - 1965 reached about 210 thousand persons; an increase of 23 thousand persons compared to the last decade. This flux continued from Qote, Al- Dewania and Basara instead of Al-Nasseria and Al-Amara.13 In 1977 statistics, total inter-province immigrants reached about 1,7 million, 14% of total population. In 1987 statistics, total immigrants reached 2 million; 12% of total population.14
During the period 1970-1990, immigration rates from the country to cities witnessed a decline compared to 1950-1970 as the rate decreased to 29% after it had reached 54%.15 Large rural immigrations headed to the Capital Baghdad where the population concentration was more than other Iraqi cities. The development policy of the early 1970s encouraged immigration to move towards the Capital with the available job opportunities, education, entertainment...etc. Therefore, Baghdad has almost contained a quarter of the total population. Baghdad was ranked 48 amongst the 85 mega-cities around the world with a larger population than other Iraqi cities. This categorized Baghdad under the first city concept that refers to the concentration of urbanization in one city controlling other cities and provinces.16
Rural immigration took place during the fifties because of hard living conditions and tyranny of land owners. Hanna Batato explains the reasons why the Shiites become the majority of Baghdad's population in the seventies though they were no more than fifth of the population in the twenties. He considered this “the result of the excessive immigration of farmers from different tribes living in rural areas due to several factors including the attractive life in cities; huge difference in income levels in rural and urban areas; suppressive Sheik system in the Shiite districts of Al-Qote and Al-Amara; and dry rivulets of the Tigris due to the rapid development of the pump system in Al-Qote and Baghdad”. 17
In a social survey conducted in Baghdad on a sample of immigrants in mid-fifties as regards the reasons of immigration from the country to cities, the results showed that immigration “was due to the harsh living conditions in the country versus the attraction sources of cities. Such conditions included hunger, tyranny of land owners, and crop damage because of hurricanes ...etc. Inspite of the low income of those immigrants, 40% of immigrants interviewed acquired less than 90 Dinars annually; most of them believe that they are better off in terms of living conditions, housing, and food than before”.18
Even after the revolution of 14 July 1958 and the issuance of agricultural reform law and the conditions of the implementation thereof, rural immigration to cities never ceased but rather increased than before. In an unpublished letter written by Athyle Al-Gomred presented to the Development Conference in London University in December 1976, it was mentioned that: “the political instability and the delay in the implementation of the agriculture reform law; and disorder of social system in rural areas have all led to immigration again.Immigration was facile with the disappearance of the authorities that used to force farmers to stick to their land in addition to the government promises to suburb residents to improve the living conditions; this attracted massive numbers of rural immigrants”.19
The massive changes in the agricultural and traditional structures in the country and failure to provide life requirements for huge numbers of countrymans have led to their immigration to cities especially big ones. Additional reasons for immigration were lack of appropriate job opportunities; lack of wealth, goods and services compared to cities; poor agricultural production; bad agricultural seasons...etc. Therefore, the contribution of agricultural sector to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decreased from 57% in 1947 to 12% in 1987. “Discrepancy and inequity appear clearly between rural and urban population in different aspects of life. The per capita share of public services in education and health in rural areas is only half that of urban areas. Economic deprivation from other services, such as water, electricity, sanitary drainage and entertainment means, in rural areas has become more serious. Thus, the deprived population of such services in rural areas reached about 90% in many developing countries. Due to the rapid growth of urbanization phenomenon, only quantitative growth (geographical and demographic), inequity between rural and urban areas has grown serious as urbanization in the developing countries including Iraq follows the primitive model instead of the standard model as in the developed countries now. Inequitable opportunities were not only restricted to rural areas, in the traditional sense, but to big cities such as Baghdad and Basra. The outskirts of such cities have become attraction centers for rural immigrants due to repelling rather than attracting factors and due to the prevailing urbanization model in countries where big cities witnessed ruralization rather than urbanization phenomenon. These phenomena have negatively impacted city residents and urban areas which witnessed increases in population rates higher than the public services provided”.20 The population increase in urban areas relates to a number of economic and social transformations; however, two major factors played an important role in this regard: 1) concentration of new job opportunities in urban areas; 2) use of automation in agriculture and development of agricultural methods.21
3. Socio-Economic Status Of Rural Immigrants In Big Cities:
People who have a decent life and a job do not immigrate. Most people migrate from one place to another due to the harsh living conditions in their original residency with the purpose of improving their economic status. Males often migrate when they reach the age of work and then they bring along their families. Though life in cities was better than life in the country, in early fifties, a small population, less than 20%, “lived in a standard that could be described as healthy and comfortable while a few enjoyed all amenities and the available updated technical tools”.22 For example, providing electricity and safe water did not exceed 50%. The poor residing in cities lived in “huts consisting of one or two-rooms made of clay or canes with no windows and with one big door in the middle. Such huts contain no furniture expect for some blankets and quilts to cover all family members who pile together on the ground in winter nights in addition to cradles for babies and wooden boxes to store the basic needs; clay water pot; and two cooking pots. Families live, in general, in a backyard behind a wall. In this area, all housework is conducted where there are chicken and perhaps a goat, if they were lucky to have one. The basic food is bread baked by women in clay oven which they sometimes eat with tea, meat, rice, vegetables or dates”. 23
A number of field surveys conducted in 1961-1962 showed that the living standard near Baghdad has slightly improved. The pay of mansion builders; most of them are immigrants from south governorates to Baghdad, reached 429 Fils / day for skilled labor and 300 Fils for unskilled labor. “Back then drinking water was not available and in some seasons when the river water became very salty, they had to buy water cans from hawkers for 10 fils / 4 gallon can. Food was adequate though it lacked calcium and vitamins; they also consumed limited amounts of animal protein while food of immigrants from south Mesopotamia, who used to eat fish frequently, had plenty of protein. Families had three meals per day: bread, tea and milk or yoghurt at breakfast; bread, dates, fresh fruit including watermelon in its season; vegetables including onions, cucumber, tomatoes at lunch; bread and soup containing tomato juice with onion and butter then tea and sugar. Sometimes they had rice but they rarely ate meat. Consequently, there were many cases of anemia due to losing blood because of parasites living in intestines”.24 In 1962, another study on family budget in Baghdad revealed “a significant increase in the monthly expense for families living in houses or huts alike. The ratio of income spent on food was less than the same in 1954. Spending on meat and fish increased against spending on wheat”. 25 Also, the living conditions improved for all categories of the Iraqi people in mid-seventies due to the upsurge in oil prices accompanied by economic development known as "explosive development" that haven't lasted long because Iraq entered into a series of wars, setbacks, international sanctions and economic siege which led to impoverished middle classes. “The real development did not last more than one decade as it was not long until Iraq suffered from severe setbacks that delayed development. This deterioration affected all facets of life including quantitative, qualitative and structural population and especially population growth pattern”.26
4. Sociological Conflict:
First rural immigrants in early forties and fifties, who settled in the outskirts especially near Baghdad, had a conflict over two distinct cultures and schools of thought and livelihood. Contrary to the early manifestations that the conflict shall definitely be resolved in favor of urban living pattern, what happened was quite the opposite as urban culture could not resist in front of the continuous rural pressures. Thus, Iraqi cities did not have the mechanisms of the European cities at the time of the industrial revolution which socially integrated the people, be they from rural or urban areas. Though there were some new sectors in Iraqi cities such as education, army, bureaucracy, crafts and industries, such sectors could not withstand legions of rural immigrants. While rural immigrants were dazzled by Baghdad's lights, habits, noise, mystique, and lifestyle five or six decades ago, their living descendents found Baghdad their home where they find their relatives, habits, accent, and favorite songs. Rural immigration turned many districts in Baghdad into rural settlements.
The urban culture had different behavior patterns; certain social relations; distinct values and figures; and a great number of social connections and relations with different people without having to establish personal relations with them. Most relations were established through social roles void of personal characteristics of the performer of this or that role. As such, urban community is full of impersonal, secondary and formal relations. City residents are interested in their houses because this is the only place they enjoy intimate personal relations life within their family. City residents spend substantial amounts of money and exert tremendous efforts to select the district in line with their social status; furnish their houses in harmony with their social class; take care of their appearance and clothes, cleanliness of their residency, and safety of food from infectious diseases; in addition to the availability of safe water, sanitation, disease prevention, numerous public services...etc. City residents pay attention to education as this enables them to acquire the skills required for different professions which provide for an adequate livelihood. They depend on acquired positions rather than inherited ones. They are also concerned with mass media; means of communications and fast flow of information; and means of entertainment...etc. Cities have acquired such values and symbols through works conducted within, which necessarily reflect the values of the urban middle classes.
The continuous rural immigration delayed the progress of urban life and led to the retrogression of urban culture in favor of rural culture and values. Thus, the country people maintain relations with their original tribes and villages by constituting rural communities adapted to city community and establishing sub-cultures that reflect and transfer some village features to cities. The values of rural culture are characterized by acceptance of fate, despair, doubt, resentment, and disdain of outer world; and ability to pursue life and survive. The origin of such attitudes and values are attributed to the nature of rural life as countrymans aim is to live and survive rather than seek profit. Survival here means the possibility of avoiding natural and social disasters such as bad agricultural seasons, hurricanes, storms, floods, plant and animal diseases, wars, fires, epidemics, political disasters ...etc. The farmer perceives life as a recurrent cycle of similar seasons, generations and tasks rather than successive advanced stages. Therefore, escape from the material life is the end of human endeavors in a timeless place based on abstract survival. The farmer only expects life at the subsistence level or scarcity which he predicts through march of life. So, his strategy is based on the reduction of risks he might encounter. Therefore, traditions, and wisdom inherited along generations, become his best guide and safest life guarantee. Traditions- routine and rituals- secures the best opportunities for success through doing things as they are usually done or rather through the inherited experience. For these reasons, the farmer does not aspire for a better future; he does not expect better world, and hence, he does not depend on the change that could come along through social or scientific revolution.
The values of rural community focus on land, family, relatives, neighborhood, and tribes. Family is the basic socioeconomic unit in the country as countrymans fulfill their basic and secondary needs and acquire their social stand through their families. Rural relations are characterized by intimate, personal and direct nature. A countryman leads a harmonized life; and recognizes his community members with their names, families and tribal origins. Those members have nearly similar professions, tribal and religious affiliations. Relations and neighborhood are characterized with solidarity which makes this affiliation a value in itself. A countryman does not easily accept others who are different in religion, culture, profession and tribal origins.
The sub-culture of immigrants to cities is characterized by basic features of the rural culture and differs according to circumstances encountered by immigrants in cities. One of the first things immigrants to cities face is being subject to a completely new social environment that warns against the social relations prevailing in cities, different from their own habits, values and standards. The daily rhythm of urban life is more diverse and faster and does not depend on changes, succession of the four seasons, or day and night. The most important point that draws the countryman's attention is the disharmony in cities, including the rich and the poor; rich and poor districts; great diversity in professions and jobs; several social and cultural roots; contradictions of habits and values; the role of women in urban life...etc.
In the absence of a mechanism that incorporates rural immigrants into city life, the countryman sticks to his inherited traditions; becomes close to people of similar rural and tribal origins; and strengthens his relations with them as the group to which he is affiliated. When the countryman finds himself undesirable in cities and does not find work that provides a stable life, he hates city and its symbols thereof especially its middle classes and cultures and awaits the chance to take revenge. The immigrants move in a complicated symbolic cultural environment with rural instinctive irrational folklore. He idolizes a certain symbolic figure, often a prominent leader or savior whether this figure was a real, legendary, or religious symbol. No matter how modest the immigrant's understanding of religion is, it plays a vital role in his culture for it includes many holy symbols. The more frustrations the immigrant faces, the more he holds on to his religion. Thus, the psychology of such category goes in conformity with religious thought where everybody is equal in rank, social status and nearly in sex and property.
5. Uprising Of The Poor In Cities:
Iraq was a unified community upon establishment in 1912. Inside the well-known three social environments: nomad, rural and urban areas, local communities were significantly different from each other. Localism, whether affiliated to a tribe, faction, sect, religion, town, geographical area or other, is the basic characteristic of different communities and groups. Local communities were different in terms of language, accents, origins, religious and sectarian affiliation, values, standards ...etc. Because there are no means to integrate all these localities into one entity, similar to the role played by industry in the western communities, strong Iraq played that role by setting the bases for forming a unified Iraqi community, a mission which has not accomplished yet, through using means such as: the Constitution, laws, education, the army, the market, prisons, to integrate many local communities. The existence of laws of tribal conflicts, until abolished following revolution of July 14th, 1958, refers to social duality. Hanna Batato observed as regards the Shiites' integration in Iraq: "When the modern country was established in Iraq in 1921, the Shiites were not a coherent entity though they had common characteristics. However, they were divided, as other Iraqi population, into independent distinguished groups. In many cases, they didn't consider themselves Shiites as their first and strongest affiliation was to their tribes which took place particularly in villages".27
The cultural background of immigrants was not in harmony with the nature of political community in urban areas especially democratic roots such as political pluralism, elections, expression of opinions ...etc. The rural immigration weakened these political communities by rendering cities teem with crowds of politically illiterate masses which changed many of the objectives of political organizations. Moreover, the governing authorities and incumbent parties led immigrants to achieve their primary objectives. Thus, political advantage of immigrants is their willingness to work under dominant movements or charismatic figures. It is enough to say a few words or use certain gestures in order to make these categories lose their balance and turn into dynamic throngs willing to destroy anything. There is always a "word", a "picture", or a "symbol" that has the "password'" effect that spreads like wildfire among these categories and guide them to the resolution of the ambiguity in the exceptional or unusual surrounding circumstances. “Some terms and phrases have power that could not be weakened by reason or affected by evidence. No sooner are these terms and phrases uttered by their speaker than the audience revere such words. Many people think that these words have divine power”.28
This category played a distinguished role in the political events in Iraq since the fifth decade of last century. “The huge increase in the government size accompanied by deterioration at the agricultural level and other previously growing sectors have led to huge and satisfactory population growth. Ever since 1958, city population was doubled almost three times. This category was 63 millions; in Baghdad alone 2,6% of the total population. The problems and tensions triggered by such rapid changes unusually led to the instability of the post-revolution systems. This, in its turn, explains the confusion and random attempts to cope up with the situation”.29 Immigrants do not adhere to politics through the regulated political process based on modern political persuasion, dialogue and organization; and gradual objective accomplishment. They rather contribute to the political process through instinctive, emotional and irrational means known as “collective behavior”. Such collective behavior takes place when a large number of people assemble in one place where they face extraordinary circumstances.30 The collective behavior resembles the regulated one in terms of the interaction of a group of people together, however; it differs in being instinctive and ever-changing which is difficult or less likely to be predicted. If the regulated individual behavior was determined by a number of controls and mechanisms such as values, standards, motives...etc, the collective behavior is also determined by similar controls. The discrepancy between them is that the regulated behavior is a recurrent daily behavior in which the individual faces familiar repeated conditions and the collective behavior takes place under extraordinary unrepeated circumstances. The collective behavior appears “when something wrong happens in the people's social environment. For example, people panic when faced by grave dangers and consequently indulge in modes of enthusiasm, agitation, and heresies due to getting bored of the status quo; they further lead riots to face severe deprivation such as inflation; and adhere to revolutionary and reform movements due to their sufferings of the prevailing social conditions”.31
In addition, the collective behavior works at time of political, economic and social changes particularly in the time of crises such as social instability; normative disorder; or social structure failure to contain the new changes. Rural immigrants played a significant political role after the fall of the previous regime in April 2003 as the door was wide open for this category to participate in the political process. From the first days following the regime fall, a great number of immigrants declared their loyalty to the Shiite leader Moqtada Al-Sadr and joined the army of "El-Mahdy" which fought the US troops in 2004; and participated in the elections held in December and January 2005. They voted for "Coalition" representatives who won a landslide victory in both elections. Revolution (Sadr) City, which includes more than two million immigrants from east Tigris rural areas, played a key role in the victory of the" Coalition". Thus, immigrants residing in poor urban districts respond better to the religious and sectarian symbols rather than the democratic discourse.
6. Conclusion:
The democratic future of Iraq depends heavily on the potentials to provide education and job opportunities to and improve the living conditions of rural immigrants to Iraqi cities especially Baghdad which already hosts most of them. Leaving such categories under the influence of powers that do not believe in democracy shall negatively affect the future of our country. So, in order to resolve the problem of poor areas in cities, the following has to be realized:
1. Changing the infrastructure of districts where the rural immigrants reside with a view to reducing overpopulation in these districts through the design of popular dwellings according to the social conditions of these categories. In addition, basic services such as health, electricity, water shall be provided along with a reasonable number of green areas.
2. Integrating immigrants into other social categories in big cities by providing high living standards; reducing unemployment particularly among youth; and raising pay levels for a better life.
3. Raising the standard of poor categories, especially in big cities, as regards the living, social, cultural and educational aspects. Also, the environment surrounding poor areas in cities should be properly improved.
4. Raising the educational and cultural standards of migrant women; incorporating them in the labor market; and empowering them to assume appropriate positions.
5. Assigning an important role to the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in these areas in order to protect the interests of the members thereof away from the state interventions.
6. Improving the conditions of youth and students from the migrant community through improving the performance level of scientific and cognitive aspects in Iraqi universities; and involve youth in cultural and sports activities through encouraging youth to open their own clubs for leisure time and entertainment.
References:
1. Urbanization simply refers to statistical ratios of city population to the entire population.
2. Urbanism refers to the living style of city population in terms of culture, social relations, values ...etc imposed by their common living conditions within the same city.
3. Louis Wirth, 'On Cities and Social Life', Selected Papers, The University of Chicago Press, 1964, p. 80
4. Peter Saunders, 'Social Theory and Urban Question', Hutchinson, London 1984, p.85-6.
5. Anthony Giddens, 'Sociology', Polity Press, Cambridge 1989, p.569.
6. John W. Bordo & John J. Hartman, 'Urban Sociology', F.E. Peacock Publishers, Inc., USA 1982, p. 350.
7. "Neighbors in one world", text of the report of the International Community Affairs Department and Alam Alma’rfa series, Kuwait 1995,p49-50.
8. See "Association of Iraqi Economists", Human Development Report , Baghdad 1995, p35.
9. A number of statistics and indicators, the United Nations, the Socio-Economic Commission of West Asia, Fourth edition, New York, 1997, p25.
10. Ministry of Planning and Developmental Cooperation, Central Agency, New York.
11. Annual Statistical Group for Statistics and Information Technology, Dr. Fenelon, Iraq Times, annual edition, 1957, See: Edith Waye and F.Benroz
12. Edith Waye and F.Benroz, Iraq: study of foreign relations and internal development 1915-1975, translated by: Abdel-Megeed El-Qeesy, Al-Dar Arabia for encyclopedia, Part I , Beirut , Lebanon, first edition, 1989, p279.
13. Benroz , Part I, previous source, p. 395.
14. Association of Iraqi Economists.p.35.
15. Ibid., p 36.
16. The UN Socio-economic Commission of West Asia, op.cit., p. 27.
17. Hanna Batato, "Iraqi Shiites: political role and integration in the community", translated by Faleh Abdel-Gabaar. www.iraqcp.org/thakafajadida/hanna1.htm.
18. Benroz, Part I, op.cit., pp.279-280.
19. Benroz, Ibid, p 395.
20. Association of Iraqi Economists, op.cit., p 20.
21. Ibid, p36.
22. Benroz , Part I, op.cit., p 278.
23. Ibid, p. 280.
24. Ibid, pp. 295-296.
25. Ibid, p. 296.
26. Association of Iraqi Economists.op.cit, 20.
27. Hanna Batato, "Iraqi Shiites:. political role and integration in the community", translated by Faleh Abdel-Gabaar. www.iraqcp.org/thakafajadida/hanna1.htm.
28. Gostav Lobon, "Spirit of Socialism", translated by Ahmed Fat-hy Zaghlool Basha, Mofam Publishing House, Algeria, 1988, p.116.
29. Hanna Batato, "Old Social Strata and Revolutionary Movements in Iraq", Third Edition, translated by Afeef Al-Razaz, Arab Research Institution, Beirut, 1992, p. 439.
30. Collective Behavior is the behavior of people in crowds, state of enthusiasm, fashions, fads, in states of panic, cults, crazes...etc and in more organized phenomena such as social movements ,be they revolutionary or reformative. See, Encyclopedia Britannica, Volume 16, 15th edition, Chicago 1991, p.556.
31. Neil J Smelser, 'Theory of Collective Behavior', Routledge & Kegan Paul, London 1962, p.47.
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* PHD in Sociology From ‘charles university’, prague-czech Republic
** This Paper was delivered to the Conference of “ Federal Civil State and national peace in the current stage”. London, 27-28 October 2006.