Gorman, Anthony

Pierret, Thomas

Robin, Benedict Nicholas

Robin-D’Cruz, Benedict

Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

2021-04-21T13:14:48Z

2021-04-21T13:14:48Z

2020-11-30

This thesis explores the formation of the leftist-Sadrist alliance that won Iraq’s May 2018 national elections. It argues that this cross-ideological social movement coalition was neither a case of two groups always primed for cooperation because of their shared social bases and political perspectives; nor was it merely an instrumental coalition negotiated between a narrow range of political elites. Rather, the alliance points to transformations in both the social and ideological structures of the two movements, and in the social contexts in which their strategic politics has been formed. This thesis uses a practice-based approach inspired by the sociology of Pierre Bourdieu to unpack these transformations. It uncovers forms of social struggle on cultural terrain, popular politics, intra-movement cleavages and systemic social crises and their effects in transforming the political strategies of these social movements. The outcome of this research is a new understanding of Iraq’s secular-leftist politics and the Sadr movement. These groups are shown to be both more ideologically heterogeneous, and their strategic politics more internally contested, than has hitherto been recognised.

https://hdl.handle.net/1842/37569

http://dx.doi.org/10.7488/era/851

en

The University of Edinburgh

Robin-D’Cruz, Benedict. ‘Social Brokers and Leftist–Sadrist Cooperation in Iraq's Reform Protest Movement: Beyond Instrumental Action.’ 51, no. 2 (May 2019): 257-280.

Robin-D’Cruz, Benedict. ‘Sadrists in the Public Sphere: An Ethnography of Political Shiʿism in Iraq.’ Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée 145 (September 2019): 75-96.

Robin-D’Cruz, Benedict & Mansour, Renad. ‘The Basra Blueprint and the Future of Protest in Iraq.’ Chatham House, October 8, 2019. https://www.chathamhouse.org/expert/comment/basra-blueprint-and-future-protest-iraq

Robin-D’Cruz, Benedict. ‘Live mapping Iraq’s October protests across the south.’ Iraq After Occupation, October 2, 2019. https://www.iraqafteroccupation.com/2019/10/02/live-mapping-iraqs-october-protests-across-the-south/

Robin-D’Cruz, Benedict. ‘Muqtada al-Sadr wears military uniform.’ Iraq After Occupation, July 12, 2016. https://benedictrobin.wordpress.com/2016/07/12/muqtada-al-sadr-wears-military-uniform-some-thoughts-on-the-secularisation-of-muqtada-al-sadr/

Robin-D’Cruz, Benedict. ‘The political discourse of ‘Ali al-Sistani and Muqtada al-Sadr on al-Hashd al-Sha’bi’,’ (Masters diss., University of Edinburgh, 2016).

Robin-D’Cruz, Benedict. ‘The Sadrist–Communist Alliance: Implications for Iraq’s Secular Politics.’ LSE Middle East Centre, June 6, 2018. http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/mec/2018/06/06/the-sadrist-communist-alliance-implications-for-iraqs-secular-politic

Robin-D’Cruz, Benedict. ‘As Protests Sweep Iraq, are the Country’s Political Elites Running out of Options?’ LSE Middle East Centre, July 18. 2018.

Sadrists

Muqtada al-Sadr

ICP

Iraqi Communist Party

Iraq

social movements

Islamist movements

Bourdieu

Leftist-Sadrist alliance: social movements and strategic politics in Iraq

Thesis or Dissertation

Doctoral

PhD Doctor of Philosophy