Perceptions of the Past, Present, and the Future: A Survey of the Iraqi Public

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SES-0433773 Mansoor Moaddel Eastern Michigan University The swift breakdown of the Iraqi State has resulted in new social conditions in the country. This project examines the effect of these conditions on the worldviews of the Iraqi public. It will: (1) explore key features of the worldviews and the long-term concerns of the Iraqi public under the current conditions of political uncertainty, economic difficulties, and social tensions; (2) examine similarities and differences between these worldviews and those of the Islamic publics of the neighboring countries where survey data are available; (3) investigate how Iraqis assess, rethink, and re-form their conceptions of self and others in the coming years; (4) examine how these attitudes are related to the interaction among the middle-layer social institutions, ethnic- and religious-based organizations, provisional authority and ruling elite; (5) explore how new political developments may weaken/strengthen the development of secular feminism and female identity; and (6) identify, in light of the existing comparative historical analyses of culture in the Islamic world, the processes that may hinder/promote (a) the rise of Arab nationalism, (b) Iraqi territorial nationalism/supra-tribal nationalism, (c) pan-Islamic nationalism, and (d) tribal nationalism/ethnic identity. To address these issues, the PI plans to conduct a national values survey in the country every two years over the next six years. This funding supports of the first of these three surveys. The study has significant potential broader impacts. For example, knowledge of Iraqi society gained by this survey will be a useful contribution to policy making, enhance understanding between the American and Iraqi publics, and provide insights into Iraqi society necessary for building a post-Saddam democratic polity. This project will also have far-reaching implications for the social-scientific study of the relationships among social transformation, state formation, foreign occupation, and the development of culture and identity formation.