| Summary/Abstract |
Throughout its existence, the Iraqi Ba‘thist regime engaged in a war against Kurdish insurgents. Declassified Ba‘th Party documents reveal that beyond military means, Baghdad saw identity as a useful resource in suppressing the uprising. The documents tell of a sophisticated divide-and-rule strategy, using bureaucracy, law, and militia recruitment to manipulate the various minority communities in northern Iraq against the rebels and each other. Drawing on these documents, this article provides a detailed analysis of this strategy.
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