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New International Journal of Contemporary Iraqi Studies Debuts

Drawing from a variety of specialists, this cutting-edge new journal studies Iraqi society and the forces that have brought it to its current juncture.

€ In a political culture that punishes deviation and rewards convention, the study of Iraq has increasingly become the pursuit of professional ideologues, mercenary scholars working in the service of government. These hired hands, de facto spokesmen for government policy, form the coterie of experts whom the mass media draw upon, communicating a message of acquiescence to their millions of viewers.

€ Cumulatively, these efforts harden disinformation, dissuading critical thought and guaranteeing a state monopoly of opinion; particularly disturbing of these efforts is their tendency to erode liberal and democratic values. This is a predicament to be challenged. IJCIS stands in opposition to the co-option of academia, against the trend of scholar as professional propagandist.

€ There is no premise here of perfect objectivity or absolute truth as Œobjectivity.¹ The focus is practised neutrality in a time of moral crisis.
Moving beyond the drama of Œhigh politics¹ between states, this journal studies the socio-economic phenomena that weigh daily on Iraqi society.

€ Each issue will have a particular theme, dissecting Iraqi society and international relations, with particular consideration given to those issues neglected in popular coverage.

€ As an inaugural theme, the question of ŒAmerica and Iraq¹ is considered, a theme encompassing not only the impact of America¹s military assault on the country, but also a consideration of the economic, cultural, and political forces that America has mobilized in its encounters with Iraq and the larger region.
Click here to read the Journal's first issue, which is already posted.