Review
"From the abundance of recent publications on modern Iraq, Reidar Visser's work on the origins and development of twentieth-century separatism in the southern region of that country stands out. For anyone seriously interested in the current conflict in Iraq over the question of federalism versus centralism, this meticulously researched study provides a highly instructive historical perspective."
-- Werner Ende, professor emeritus of Islamic studies at Albert-Ludwigs-Universitt, Freiburg, Germany "A fascinating account of the birth of Iraqi nationalism sheds much-needed light on recent debates in Basra about federalism." -- Al-Ahram Weekly
"This is a fascinating account, and it is a pleasure to commend Visser's careful use of Ottoman documents to reconstruct the history of pre-war Basra (used for this purpose for the first time), and of British and Iraqi materials for the mandate and beyond...Given fifteen years of quasi-statehood, it must be granted that it is not out of the question that the Kurds might one day decide to break away from the rest of Iraq. On the other hand, Visser considers, and I agree with him, that, given Iraq's new federal structure as well as the history of southern Iraq since 1921, the notion of the emergence of a Shiastan, or some other form of separation of southern Iraq from the rest of the country, does not inhabit that same realm of probability."--Peter Sluglett, University of Utah
From the Publisher
"From the abundance of recent publications on modern Iraq, Reidar Visser’s work on the origins and development of twentieth-century separatism in the southern region of that country stands out. For anyone seriously interested in the current conflict in Iraq over the question of federalism versus centralism, this meticulously researched study provides a highly instructive historical perspective."
— Werner Ende, professor emeritus of Islamic studies at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Freiburg, Germany
