Iraq and the regional environment the need for rapprochement and integration

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Atheer Nazim Al-Jasur.

Faculty of Political Science / Al-Mustansiriya University

It is an axiom of countries to merge and converge witha set of relations that define clear points that express  the perception and knowledge of their role in  their  vital fields and important regions, through which they seek to take steps whose results are to achieve their interests, which  are the basis of work in various aspects, as well as that countries within an  integrated system in which they play different roles, especially as they also work within an intertwined andcomplex system But it does not prevent them from trying to access the smallest details of the system and interact with its events, as these relations, whether at the regional or international levels,  require an in-depth study of the behavior of the main  ruling forces in  both environments that determine the overall  political, economic and military movement of  countries through their use of tools and elements that help them open different channels in how to build  Strategies that affect the recipient, whether official or unofficial, as a result, the forces  contribute to finding appropriate ways to clarifytheir  political and diplomatic impact in addition to their role and interaction in the events taking place, and today's world no longer takes into account the size of the state as much as considering its geographical importance, economic capabilities and political role in achieving the requirements for survival and continuity.

As for Iraq, it has gone through a series ofchallenges since the establishment of the state  until today, which contributed to being in the circle of  competition and regional and international conflict due to considerations of geography, resources  and  other social and cultural factors  intertwined with their complexity and intertwining, which made it a key point  in the strategic thinking of the forces that work in two directions. The first   dealt with it as a pillar of balance.The second trend is that it is considered  a threat to regional and global security by reading the behavior of its political system,  which has become a threat  to the security of the region due to its expansionist and hostile ambitions, as well as  its  geo-strategic importance  that made it among the priorities of its political and economic interests.Later, it became a fertile ground for terrorist extremist groups and a battleground for competing powers that are trying to settle their scores on its land by putting forward their projects and agendas, all this  made regional and international powers  work to limit  its role, whether before or after  its occupation by the United States of America in 2003, Iraq after this date is no longer a balance of power factor in the region, but has been classified as a product For instability, which facilitated this argument of the process of interfering in its internal affairs and controlling its political decision, and building a fragile political system whose outputs are controlled by the products of sub-identities that have grown and their role has increased at the expense of the inclusive national identity, but this does not mean that the regional powers are still dealing with Iraq with great caution and fear of increasing its role again and returning to its previous ambitions, so the regional powers are working to confirm the idea of Iraq remaining unified and weak even better than being a strong divider Each department is supported by one force at the expense of the other to produce a new conflict within it over resources

The idea of the occupation of Iraq and the decisions issued by the civil society at the time, "Paul Premiere", was enough to be devoid of its political, military,  economic and security content, and the most dangerous of all  this is the idea of weakening its social structure,  which produced  dangerous and strange cases that reflected on its internal policy characterized by chaos and unstable and in  all fields, that the process of nooccupation had a role in the countries of the territory of Iraq  In particular, the upper hand  in  determining the levels  of work within it  through two issues, the first is the continuous support for parties and personalities within their religious, sectarian and national identities through the formulation of  a fixed party policy  that indicates the role of the sub-identity in it, and the  second  is direct intervention in  the formulation and making of internal Iraqi politics in general. In this way, the Iraqi political system, which turned into a project of regional agendas, was weakened after the absence of the Iraqi sovereign decision to help achieve the Iraqi interests.

The question here is how Iraq deals with the regional ambitions calling for keeping it within the plan of the follower and follower?, here it is necessary to divide the government work that takes place within the framework of the work of the state as a whole by determining the elements of dealing and its necessities, especially since the geographical area that includes Iraq is one of the important points of the worldin which several fixed issues are managed in  the strategic mind of the major powers, so Iraq historically and although it is the focus of attention  and influence of the powers on it, its biggest problem It is the  inconsistency  in its internal and foreign policy, in addition to the psychology of the decision-maker, beliefs, formats and way of thinking, in addition to the  individual and collective behavior in the decision-making process was a weak factor for him, in addition to the fact that the Iraqi decision-making unit is always affected by its regional environment, whether Arab or non-Arab, every political system before and after 2003 creates a group of competitors and enemies  And friends, each of these groups deals with them according  to the patterns and values of the decision-maker and his ideology in different ways, which works to be consistent with the group of friends controlling or  rather dominant either on thinking or on the behavior of the state administration, in conclusion, the reality of Iraqi political action must be the  decision-maker serious in  studying the state of the regional reality in isolation from the tensions and tendencies through the process of abstraction from any external influencesIn order to make a purely Iraqi decision.

Therefore, it is necessary  to follow basic steps that  can achieve rapprochement and integration with the regional environment without relying on the factors of attraction and internal trenches affecting foreign policy, and to  go towards working to make the  national interest the ultimate goal, which must become one of the  axioms of political and diplomatic action, which is in the following ways:  

1-   Investing in internal diversity (religious -  national  -  sectarian - ethnic) as a source of strength that pushes towards the paths of peaceful coexistence, and linking them to the foundations of cultural and civilizational communication with nations and peoples in line with the preservation of freedoms, rights and respect for the other.

2-   The belief of the Iraqi decision-maker and the participants in political work from parties, organizations and personalities in Iraq's regional and international status and hard work to strengthen it and activate its role through its diplomatic work to be a link between the conflicting forces and bring views closer, and this comes through the belief in the role that creates an appropriate atmosphere for the process of economic and political integration based on its material and human resources and capabilities that help it in everything related to enhancing its economic orientations and the process of exchange between it and countries and enhancing its position, from During the identification of higher interests and strategic objectives that must be taken for granted external action.

3-   Work to create a solid ground for building a foreign policy based on respect for the other and non-interference in the internal affairs of countries, and preventing interference in his affairs from any party.

4-   Pursuing a foreign policy based on balance and stability through drawing up national diplomacy  based on reciprocity and from the standpoint of positive strength, not on the basis of the principle of strong and weak or subordinate and followed in important issues affecting the security and safety of Iraq (borders, water, terrorism) etc.

5-    The interaction of the foreign policy with events, regardless of their importance and size,  and to work to prove the existence of Iraq as an auxiliary and important element in overcoming obstacles  and take the initiative and move in directions that confirm its active role at all levels.

6-   Joint work with neighboring countries and the region to maintain security, which in turn is an influential factor,  both on the internal security of each country at various levels, and relying on the state's ability in its foreign policy, which in turn plays an area to make it a gateway to brothers  and friends by putting forward initiatives and settlements calling for peace and ensuring security.

7-   Continuous work to deliver messages to neighboring countries and the region on the need to activate joint cooperation agreements and the need to establish peace in the region because of their political and social importance, and to activate military and logistical cooperation in combating terrorism, preventing aggression between countries and leaving the fragile and unstable balance of power in the region.

8-   Investing in international and regional forums to put forward projects that help Iraq to be a regional and international party and a key player in initiatives to impose security and combat extremism, especially since today it has experience in thefield of extremism, which qualifies it to be the erasure of this work at the very least.

9-   Playing on its energy, which is necessarily a  key source of attracting international and regional powers  for what is in their interest in this aspect, and since the region suffers from the problem of security concerns and turmoil that has exhausted its  security and economic policies, therefore Iraq must direct its energy policy to be a guarantee   Internal and even external security after moving towards the duality of energy and protection, exploiting energy to create different options of relationships take multiple paths.

These and other steps  can only be achieved if  the interdependence between the internal and foreign policies is made, as the latter is an extension of the former, and this is through following procedures and taking decisions according to a stable and balanced practical logic, as the next stage indicates that Iraq must move towards serious interaction within its regional circle first, which has become effectively influential on its policies, and plays a role in determining the points from which it proceeds towards consolidating its presence, Therefore, it is more realistic for what is coming for Iraq to adopt a policy of positive neutrality, which is the appropriate solution to cross the stage of tension that it is experiencing today, as it is the safest and most secure for it.