Saddam Hussein’s Ba’th Party

Saddam Hussein's Ba'th Party

Inside an Authoritarian Regime

By Joseph Sassoon

Paperback 9780521149150

Published 1 March 2012 [UK]

Iraqi historian Joseph Sassoon uses state documents seized after the American invasion to reveal the horrors of Hussein's authoritarian state and the surveillance network he created.

The Ba'th Party came to power in 1968 and remained for thirty-five years, until the 2003 U.S. invasion. Under the leadership of Saddam Hussein, who became president of Iraq in 1979, a powerful authoritarian regime was created based on a system of violence and an extraordinary surveillance network, as well as reward schemes and incentives for supporters of the party.

The true horrors of this regime have been exposed for the first time through a massive archive of government documents captured by the United States after the fall of Saddam Hussein. It is these documents that form the basis of this extraordinarily revealing book and that have been translated and analyzed by Joseph Sassoon, an Iraqi-born scholar and seasoned commentator on the Middle East. They uncover the secrets of the innermost workings of Hussein's Revolutionary Command Council, how the party was structured, how it operated via its network of informers and how the system of rewards functioned.

About the Author

Joseph Sassoon is Adjunct Professor at the Center for Contemporary Arabic Studies at Georgetown University. Born in Baghdad, he completed his doctorate at St Antony's College, Oxford, where he became a fellow.  He is the author of numerous books on the Iraqi economy and the Middle East region.

Notes to Editors

For more information, an interview with an author or a review copy, please contact Carly Bareham at Cambridge University Press on 01223 326274, cbareham@cambridge.org

Contents

1. The rise of the Ba'th party

2. Party structure and organization

3. The Ba'th party branches

4. Security organizations during the Ba'th era

5. The Ba'th and the army

6. The personality cult of Saddam Hussein

7. Control and resistance

8. Bureaucracy and civil life under the Ba'th

About Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press was founded by a royal charter granted to the University of Cambridge by King Henry VIII in 1534.  It is the oldest printer and publisher in the world, having been operating continuously since 1584, and is one of the largest academic publishers globally.  Its purpose is to further the University's objective of advancing learning, knowledge and research.  Throughout its history, the Press has maintained a reputation for innovation and enterprise, through its use of printing technologies, through publishing the latest research, and through supporting the latest methodologies for teaching and learning.