Evaluating the Pitfalls of External Statebuilding in Post-2003 Iraq (2003–2021)

Peacebuilding and transitional justice are viewed as integral components of statebuilding in post-conflict spaces. This Special Issue critically evaluates statebuilding and peacebuilding in Iraq through macro and micro-level analyses of Iraq's political development following foreign-imposed regime change. In line with the articles in the Special Issue, this introduction critically examines Iraq's post-2003 trajectory as an outcome of the failure of securitized statebuilding and the absence of legitimacy in externally-imposed democratization. It concludes by highlighting the impact of expedient and exogenous statebuilding on transitional justice and post-conflict peacebuilding.