Policing Iraq: Legitimacy, Democracy, and Empire in a Developing State

254 Pages·2021·8.864 MB·English

by  Jesse Wozniak

Policing Iraq

Policing Iraq
Legitimacy, Democracy, and Empire in a Developing State
Jesse s. G. Wozniak
University of California Press
University of California Press
Oakland, California
© 2021 by Jesse S. G. Wozniak
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Wozniak, Jesse S. G., 1982– author.
Title: Policing Iraq : legitimacy, democracy, and empire in a
developing state / Jesse S. G. Wozniak.
Description: Oakland, California : University of California Press,
[2021] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020037086 (print) | LCCN 2020037087 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780520355705 (cloth) | ISBN 9780520355712 (paperback) |
ISBN 9780520975972 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Kurdistān (Iraq). H¨ikûmetî Herêmî Kurdistan-ʹÊraq.
| Police—Iraq—History—21st century.
Classification: LCC HV8242.55 W68 2021 (print) | LCC HV8242.55
(ebook) | DDC 363.209567/2—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020037086
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020037087
Manufactured in the United States of America
30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Mom and Dad
“I am who I am because somebody loved me.”

Contents
Acknowledgments viii
1. kurds, Criminal JustiCe, and state leGitimaCy 1
2. the FaCe oF the state: hoW PoliCe are Central
to modern GovernanCe 18
3. “ninety-nine PerCent oF our Problems are due
to the budGet”: the loFty exPeCtations and
dismal reality oF reConstruCtion 48
4. “nothinG on hoW to investiGate, nothinG on
hoW to talk to or deal With PeoPle”: the
Cultural PerFormanCe oF PoliCinG 72
5. “iF you have no deGree, you Can Work here”:
QualiFiCations, Consent, and CoerCion 97
6. “the laW is in one valley, but reality is in a
diFFerent valley”: tribes, PolitiCal Parties,
and Governments ComPete For Control 121
7. PoliCe, state makinG, and imPerialism 146
Appendix: On Conducting Conflict Research 169
Notes 191
References 209
Index 231
Acknowledgments
A few years back I was teaching a qualitative methods course, and when
discussing issues surrounding access and how to actually get a major
research project going, the students asked if I had any advice from my
own experience. I struggled to come up with any concrete recommenda-
tions. As with so much of my life, this project came about by me stum-
bling backward into good fortune. The best I could come up with for them
was to be lucky enough to meet a bunch of great people who help you for
no other reason than they’re great people. I’m fortunate enough to have a
long list of great people to thank.
My undergraduate mentors Kent Sandstrom and Steven Muzzatti de-
serve a great deal of praise or condemnation for sending me on this career
path. Joshua Page, Ron Aminzade, and Theresa Gowan provided great
mentorship and extensive notes on early portions of this project, and Chris
Uggen was central as both my PhD advisor and continued cheerleader in
the years since. Gabrielle Ferrales is owed a world of thanks not only for
her continued mentorship and critical notes on the manuscript but also
for first introducing me to the research contacts that got this project off
the ground and then later helping to design research materials and pro-
vide tireless assistance (and enthusiasm!) in the research project. There
is simply no way this project would have happened without Gab. Wenjie
Liao similarly contributed to the research design of work that didn’t make
it directly into this book but greatly informed my understanding. Sincere
thanks to Maura Roessner and Madison Wetzell of UC Press for their be-
lief in the manuscript, invaluable assistance in putting the book together,
and polite patience with my incessant inquiries.
This project would have never begun without the kind assistance of
Daniel Rothenberg, Kari Kammel, Kandy Christensen, and Kurdistan
viii
Acknowledgments / ix
Dayole from the International Human Rights Law Institute in
Sulaymaniyah. Special thanks to Shamal Hussein and Hiwa Sadiq for their
invaluable translation assistance and friendship, and to Hardy for driving
me where I needed to go. Many thanks to the wonderful friends I gained
in Suly—Dr. Farhad, Alex, Lukacs, Nwenar, Ramyar, Kamaran, and Luke.
Most special thanks to Dr. Anwer Jaff, whose invaluable connections have
been absolutely essential to my research, and whose friendship, insights,
and hospitality I will never be able to repay. A similar debt of gratitude is
owed to the many police, judges, and lawyers who volunteered their time
and assistance. And, of course, a hearty thank you to the Kurdish people,
whose kindness and hospitality remains simply overwhelming.
A portion of this project was funded in part by the West Virginia
Humanities Council and in even smaller, though much more meaning-
ful, part by the members of Graduate Student Workers United. No major
funding agencies provided any assistance for the research contained in
this book, as it was deemed “unlikely to be completed,” in the words of
one such rejection. The only major source of funding for this research was
provided by Josephine Poplar Wozniak, a light to this world who is sorely
missed. While she likely couldn’t have envisioned how I would end up
using the government savings bonds she sent me as an infant, I hope I’ve
made her proud. The entirety of this manuscript was written with a smelly
old dog snoring loudly at my feet, who moved on to that great farm up
north shortly after the book was completed and will be forever missed.
Finally, if you’ve read this far, you’re assuredly one of my parents, so, hi
Mom! Hi Dad!
Iraq
TURKEY
Zakho
Dohuk
Rabia
Kurdistan Region Sinjar MosMulDoasmul
(claimedboundary) Tal Afar Gwer Erbil Kurdistan Region
Qaiyarah Makhmur (recognized boundary)
Qaiyarah air base Slemani
Kirkuk
NINEWA Sharqat
SYRIA BaijiZRaewfiiynaehry Hawija Daquq Halabja
Tuz Khurmatu
Rawa SALAH Baiji SulaimanBeg
Tikrit
Syrian rebel Qaim Anah SamarraAL-DIN Jalula
control Udhaim Khanaqin IRAN
Haditha Lake Sadia
Akashat BaghdadiHit KTahramrtaharTaji Baquba
Walid DIYALA
J Rutbah RamSaadqilawiya Baghdad
O Abu Ghraib
Fallujah
R Trebil
D ANBAR Tigris
A Karbala Hillah Kut
N
Nukhayb
Najaf Diwaniyah Amarah
Euphrates
Nasiriyah
Basra
Approximate Territorial Control
Situation asknown Sep. 5, 2016
T
"IslamicState"(ISIS)&allies AI
W
Kurdistan Peshmerga U
Iraqi government & allies K Persian
Gulf
Mixed or unclear control
SAUDI ARABIA
Map 1. Islamic State territorial control at the organization’s peak. Base map by
Koen Adams of onestopmap.com, with territorial control by Evan Centanni and
Djordje Djukic. All rights reserved.