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Title: The Domestic Political implications of Economic Sanctions: Evidence from Iraq under Saddam Hussein
Citation Type: Book, Section
Publication Year: 2020
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Abstract: How do authoritarian regimes weather the political strain of severe economnic sanctions? In 1990, the United Nations Security Council annoui1ced an economic embargo on Iraq that was unprecedented in terms of its comprehensiveness. Sanctions affected virtually all Iraqis, creating distress and suffering at every level of society. The sanctions came as a particular shock since Iraqis had enjoyed among the highest per capita food availability ratings in the Middle East prior to the imposition of the embargo (Gordon 2010, 33). During the sanctions period, malnutrition became widespread and Iraq saw the rise of both child mortality and childhood stunting. Using data from multiple sources, I provide information about the geographic distribution of human suffering within Iraq, with a special emphasis on the harm sanctions caused to Iraqi children. The sanctions regime had implications that went beyond the health and well-being of Iraqi citizens, however. In this chapter, I examine the domestic political impact of the massive, prolonged economic shock associated with the international sanctions regime using Iraqi archival sources captured in the wake of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. On the one hand, the economic embargo strengthened the regime's hand in a numbe1· of meaningful ways, particularly through state control of both the rations...
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Authors: Blaydes, Lisa
Editors: Shihi, Victor, C
Pages: 22-40
Volume Title: Economic Shocks and Authoritarian Stability
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Publisher Location: Michigan, USA
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Data Collections: IPUMS International
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Countries: Iraq