Communism and Agrarian Reform in Iraq

The Iraqi Communist Party, established in 1934, was frequently criticised for being urban in its organisation and outlook, and this in a country where 70% of the population was rural. Operating under conditions of extreme repression, the Iraqi Communists found it very difficult to function outside a few urban centres, but they were well aware of the condition of the rural population. Originally published in 1978, this book, based primarily on clandestine Iraqi Communist publications, explores the ideas, attitudes and orientation of the Iraqi Communist Party concerning the agrarian problems of Iraq. It provides the background to Iraq’s socio-political conditions and analyses in detail the Iraqi Communists’ agrarian philosophy of the early-mid 20th century. It also discusses the position of the Iraqi Communists in Qasim’s Iraq, focussing on the Communists’ programme for implementing an agrarian policy to suit an independent, yet still non-Communist Iraq.