Hope Denied: Iraq's Young People Reflect on 20 Years Since the Invasion

(A protester stands outside Nasb Al-Hurriyah Monument in Tahrir Square, Baghdad, during the October 2019 protests. Source: Ali Dab Dab)

When the US and UK launched their invasion of Iraq in March 2003, they did so under the premise that it would bring human rights, dignity and democracy to the country and its people. They argued that it would usher in 'generation freedom', a generation of young people who would never have to experience the horrors that their parents and grandparents had witnessed under dictatorship, war and sanctions. Yet, 20 years later Iraq continues to be marred by political instability and periodic outbursts of violence. The failures of the political system imposed through international intervention has led to the creation of a 'state of parties', where militia rule is the norm and an estimated $150 billion has been lost to politically sanctioned corruption since 2003. This has left citizens without even the most basic services or rights provisions.

To mark the 20-year anniversary since the invasion of Iraq, LSE Middle East Centre brings together young activists to reflect on what being part of 'generation freedom' has meant for them in practice.

Faris Nadhmi is a social psychologist, writer and university professor. He is the president of the Iraqi Association for Political Psychology and is a member of the Arab Council for Social Sciences, the International Society of Political Psychology, and the American Psychological Association. Dr Nadhmi has published ten books and his current research focuses on the psychology of protest, national identity, deprivation, social justice, social trust, political corruption, and political Islamisation. More information can be found at https://academics.su.edu.krd/faris.nadhmi

Haider Kareem Saeed is a political and civil activist and co-founder of the IQ Peace Centre. In 2013, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Baghdad. From 2013 until 2021, he worked in the banking industry and received training in combating terrorism and money laundering from the Central Bank of Iraq. Haidar collaborated with international organisations such as the International Republican Institute on two projects, the first in 2021 on elections and Covid-19, and the second in 2022 on the lack of green spaces in Baghdad and encroachment on agricultural lands. A frequent participant in protests against the ruling system in Iraq, Haidar also participated in the October Revolution demonstrations in 2019.

Marwa Abdel Ridah is a civil activist and lawyer. With a group of young women in Iraq, she established a legal organisation specialising in women's issues. She worked through the organisation to prepare training guides for women's rights, most notably the comparative training guide for drafts of the Domestic Violence Law and a training manual on women's rights in the Personal Status Law, on which she trained a number of female employees of Iraqi ministries. She worked on training activists to lead legalisation campaigns. She has worked as a legal advisor for several associations and organisations, specialising in women's and children's issues, as well as journalistic and media-related matters.

Noor Al Huda Saad Abdullah is a researcher and political activist. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and works in the government and civil society fields. She has written for the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung on violence against female politicians and candidates in the post-2003 Iraqi elections, and has conducted research for the Al-Amal Association on the role of youth in peace-building processes in the post-ISIS era, with her research focusing on the different roles played by young people in building peace and social coexistence in liberated cities.

Toby Dodge is a professor in the LSE Department of International Relations, where he is deputy head of the department (PhD and Research). He is also Kuwait Professor and Director of the Kuwait Programme at the LSE Middle East Centre.

The event will be predominantly in Arabic, with English-Arabic simultaneous interpretation.

عندما شنت الولايات المتحدة والمملكة المتحدة غزوهما للعراق في مارس 2003، كان التبرير هو الدفاع عن حقوق الإنسان والكرامة وجلب الديمقراطية للعراق وشعبه وان هذا الغزو سيؤدي  إلى خلق «جيل الحرية»، جيل يتمتع بالحرية والديمقراطية والحياة الكريمة حيث لن يضطروا أبداً إلى تجربة الفظائع التي شهدها آباؤهم وأجدادهم من حروب وعقوبات في ظل ديكتاتورية صدام. ولكن بعد 20 عاماً من الغزو، لا يزال العراق يعاني من عدم الاستقرار السياسي والعنف المستمر. ذلك ان النظام السياسي الذي اوجدته الولايات المتحدة في العراق قد اثبت فشله بسبب قيام "دولة الاحزاب” وسيطرة الميليشيات على الدولة ومقدراتها وبالتالي استشراء الفساد في كل مكان. حيث يقدر هدر ما يقارب 150 مليار دولار من واردات الدولة بسبب الفساد، الأمر الذي انعكس سلبا على المواطنين الذين أصبحوا يعانون من توفر ابسط الخدمات الاساسية للحياة وسلب لحرياتهم.

لذلك بمناسبة الذكرى العشرين لغزو العراق، يستضيف مركز دراسات الشرق الأوسط مجموعة من الناشطين الشباب الذين يمثلون "جيل الحرية” ليتحدثوا عما يعنيه هذا المفهوم لهم من واقع حياتهم في العراق بعد 20 عام من الاحتلال.

يدير الجلسة: توبي دوج - جامعة لندن للاقتصاد

فارس كمال نظمي – جامعة صلاح الدين

حيدر كريم – ناشط سياسي

مروة عبد الرضا – محامية و ناشطة في مجال حقوق المرأة

نور الهدى سعد – ناشطة سياسية

Join the conversation on Twitter using #LSEMiddleEast