Publication

This paper first characterizes civil military relations (CMR) in Iraq during the Ba’athist period (1968-2003). It then examines the process of regime change undertaken by the US-led coalition in Operation Iraqi Freedom since 2003. The authors demonstrate that the emergence of military structures – largely in reaction to a growing insurgency during the occupation period – occurred prior to the establishment of legitimate political authority and argue that although existing theories of civil-military relations in states in transition are useful as guides to understanding Iraqi CMR, the unique experience of Iraq suggests that a three-phase tabula rasa model – which might be termed a post-occupation model of civil-military relations - may be emergent.