Among Brothers and Strangers: Identities in Displacement in Iraq
| Published date | 01 April 2019 |
| Author | Nadia Siddiqui,Roger Guiu,Aaso Ameen Shwan |
| Date | 01 April 2019 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12478 |
Among Brothers and Strangers: Identities in
Displacement in Iraq
Nadia Siddiqui*, Roger Guiu* and Aaso Ameen Shwan*
ABSTRACT
Through analysis of primary qualitative data collected in Nineveh, Kirkuk, and Sulaimaniya
Governorates in Iraq, this article seeks to explore the rapidly shifting and fragmenting identity
dynamics at play in the emerging aftermath of ISIS and the impact that this conflict –and pre-
vious legacies of violence and repression –has had on relationships within and between
groups, and between groups and the state. Communities increasingly position themselves
against one another in relation to vindication of rights and protection. This zero-sum stance
comes from a history of mismanagement of communities and their respective grievances by
the state and international partners. Formal acknowledgement of suffering across groups by the
state may serve as a first step to break this cycle of negation toward one of inclusion, in the
midst of mass displacement and emerging population returns.
INTRODUCTION
What does it mean to be who you are where you live, at the moment that you live there? This
question is at the heart of any analysis of social fragility at the local level. It is how everyday citi-
zens navigate their communities amidst ongoing upheaval, including mass displacement and return,
in terms of their relationships to each other and their perceptions of the state. The response to this
question has been subject to rapid fluctuation in Iraq over the past three decades (Dawisha, 1999;
Haddad, 2014; van Zoonen & Wirya, 2016). This fast change in identities is at the core of violence
in the country, including the most recent mass waves of displacement and conflict, starting in
2014, as a result of the Islamic State (ISIS) takeover of nearly one-third of Iraq’s territory and the
military operations to remove them. These events set the country at a tipping point, further upend-
ing some identities and entrenching others (Social Inquiry, 2017), as will be explored in detail in
the present article.
While understanding these shifting identity dynamics is necessary for developing long-term
strategies for durable peace and stability as well as conflict-sensitive humanitarian assistance, they
take a back seat to military operations and immediate, material needs (Action Against Hunger
et al., 2017). This is problematic, because identities are further shaped by how these activities are
implemented and by whom, as has been seen in previous international interventions in Iraq
(Shadid, 2006). Lack of conflict-sensitivity further accelerates the (re)alignment of identities by
tightening and reimagining intra-group bonds, as new grievances exacerbate old ones; this serves
as a protection mechanism, but at the same time perpetuates the cycle of fragility, violence, and
conflict that the country has been stuck in for decades (Arthur, 2009; World Bank, 2011; Social
Inquiry, 2017).
* Social Inquiry, Erbil, Iraq
doi: 10.1111/imig.12478
©2018 The Author
International Migration ©2018 IOM
International Migration Vol. 57 (2) 2019
ISSN 0020-7985Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
The findings presented here, then, are a response to this gap. They seek to reframe fragility after
conflict, displacement, and emerging return by placing social cohesion, identity and relationships at
the centre, through conducting extensive fieldwork in areas of protracted displacement and emerg-
ing population return in Northern Iraq. Interviewing displaced, returning and hosting populations
across conflict-affected areas allowed for the examination of latent sources of tension in already
fragile communities as well as uncovering factors that connect people across communities. These
findings provide for a more nuanced analysis of the ties that bind and the forces that pull apart
communities in Iraq and how people see themselves in relation to others and to the state, beyond
clear-cut ethno-sectarian lines. This serves as a basis for programming and policy recommendations
to contribute to positive social change, predicated on genuine acknowledgement, reform, and the
vindication of all victims’rights in a rapidly evolving conflict and post-conflict context.
What follows is an overview and theoretical underpinning for a more relationship- and identity-
based view of fragility and cohesion in Iraq; description of the qualitative methodology used in col-
lecting community level perspectives of identity and cohesion; analysis of findings as specifically
related to evolving identity dynamics across contexts; and recommendations to reorient policy and
programming to mitigate and prevent further spirals into violence.
PUTTING THE “SOCIAL”BACK INTO SOCIAL FRAGILITY AND COHESION
While there is no set definition of “fragility”in the context of nation-states, in World Bank par-
lance, it refers to “periods when states or institutions lack the capacity, accountability, or legitimacy
to mediate relations between citizen groups and between citizens and the state, making them vul-
nerable to violence”(World Bank, 2011, xvi). What is striking about this description, as opposed
to those which focus on, among other things, service provision, legitimacy, or accountability to the
international community, is its rightful identification of the state’s role in mediating relationships,
not just between itself and society, but between groups in society as well.
This subtle shift, from defining fragility in terms only of the quality of state institutions to the
importance of relationships as well, points to a growing understanding that “a state’s fragility is
also a function of the strength of civil society and the extensiveness of social capital”(OECD,
2011, 14). In other words, the state is not the only actor and may not even be the most powerful
actor instaunching fragility,but rathera rangeof socialrelationships areinvolved (Marcet al.,
2013). These relationships within a society, which influence and are influenced by state functioning
writ-large, are not solely dependent on this functioning. As such, relationships can change the level
of fragility, up or down, at the community level. This helps explain so-called pockets of fragility in
contexts where state institutions are relatively strong and pockets of stability in areas where state
institutions are weak (Dubois et al., 2010; Carpenter, 2014).
Iraq was included as a fragile state in the OECD’s 2015 States of Fragility List and can be con-
sidered as such across any description of the term. Among other factors, ongoing conflict and vio-
lence, especially since 2014, has left over 2.8 million people still internally displaced across the
country as a result of ISIS and the military operations to remove their hold on land. There is also a
panoply of military forces and armed groups involved in these operations –each with their own
political and related ethno-religious agendas (Mansour, 2017), and there exist growing disputes
over already contested territories in the country as a result of this fighting, new waves of human
rights violations, and mass movement of people (Mironova & Hussein, 2017), to say nothing of
the growing public discontent toward the government because of corruption and the faltering politi-
cal and economic landscape (Sowell, 2016). But, what does this mean in practice for everyday citi-
zens, navigating their communities amidst such upheaval? Are relationships between citizens
reinforcing fragility or helping them cope with it?
Among Brothers and Strangers81
©2018 The Author. International Migration ©2018 IOM
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