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Getting Out of Iraq in 1932

Iraq was the single mandated territory—out of fourteen—to achieve independent statehood while still under the jurisdiction of the League of Nations. Overseeing this process, the League’s expert bodies became ever more skeptical of the panacea of independent statehood. Through this case, we can see this modern state system in the making.

Date & Time

Monday
Apr. 29, 2013
4:00pm – 5:30pm ET

Location

4th Floor, Woodrow Wilson Center
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Overview

Iraq was the single mandated territory—out of fourteen—to achieve independent statehood while still under the jurisdiction of the League of Nations.  But what kind of “independence” was this?  By coming to an agreement with nationalist elites in Iraq, Britain was able to retain control of crucial economic concessions and military rights in this key region and to avoid further irritating international scrutiny. Overseeing this process, the League’s expert bodies became ever more skeptical of the panacea of independent statehood. We now live in a world in which virtually all territorial units are “states,” but those states often lack capacity.  Through this case, we can see this modern state system in the making.

Susan Pedersen is Professor of History and James P. Shenton Professor of the Core Curriculum at Columbia University.  Her books include Family, Dependence and the Origins of the Welfare State (1993) and Eleanor Rathbone and the Politics of Conscience (2004).  She is now completing a study of the impact of the League of Nations on the European colonial regimes.    

Reservations requested because of limited seating:
HAPP@wilsoncenter.org or 202-691-4166

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Speaker

Susan Pedersen

Susan Pedersen

Professor of History and James P. Shenton Professor of the Core Curriculum at Columbia University.
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Hosted By

History and Public Policy Program

The History and Public Policy Program makes public the primary source record of 20th and 21st century international history from repositories around the world, facilitates scholarship based on those records, and uses these materials to provide context for classroom, public, and policy debates on global affairs.  Read more

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