Political rights of religious minorities in Iraq and Syria: 2008-2018

Abstract

The object of study of this work are the religious minorities in Iraq and Syria. They represent a relatively small percentage of the total population, which means that they are more likely to be the target of political repression. The relevance of his study is due to several factors. In the first place, the history of sectarianism and persecution suffered by religious minorities in both countries. Second, the multiple experiences of political violence accumulated by both political systems, under the forms of dictatorial government, war, and attacks by insurgent and terrorist groups. And third, the common consideration of the region as a priority area for peace building actions. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the evolution of the political rights of the Yazidi and Christian religious minorities in Iraq and Syria between 2008 and 2018 in comparative perspective. To contextualize this process, this study also contrasts the similarities and differences between the social and economic rights of minority communities. The work poses three research questions and their respective hypotheses. The first question is how political rights have evolved for religious minorities in Iraq and Syria from 2008 to 2018. The hypothesis tested is: H1) Political voting rights and access to public services have been reduced for religious minorities in Iraq and Syria from 2008 to 2018. The second question concerns the similarities and differences between the level of political rights that religious minorities have in Iraq and Syria. Two alternative hypotheses are tested: H2a) There are differences between the political rights of each religious minority in Iraq and Syria with regard to political decision-making within the political system, and H2b) There are no differences. The third and final research question refers to the causes that explain such similarities or differences. The hypothesis to be tested is that H3) the evolution of the political rights of religious minorities in both countries is determined by different configurations of internal, regional and international conditions. Variations in the level of government articipation, the conduct of the religious social majority, terrorist groups and external powers determine the differences/similarities in the pattern of evolution of the level of political rights of religious minorities. Three techniques are used to test the working hypotheses. The case study method is used to test the H1. The comparative binary study is used to test H2a and H2bs. Qualitative comparative analysis in its crisp-set variant (csQCA) is used to test H3. The data sources used are Iraqi and Syrian constitutional and legal texts and previous academic, humanitarian and security studies on both countries. The conditions of insecurity in force in the study area during the development of this research have made it difficult to access primary testimonial sources from representatives of the affected groups, as originally planned. The result of the case analysis is that in the period from 2008 to 2013 and from 2014 to 2018, there were various transformations in the constitution of Iraq, whose objective is to provide equal rights to religious minorities. However, such legal changes fail to guarantee the political rights of Christians and Yazidis. A similar case of discrimination has been observed in Syria. The influence and fear of corrupt political parties have forced the government of these nations to continue to disenfranchise religious minorities. Law enforcement in Iraq and Syria are also uncooperative with minority religious groups. In addition, the rise of extremist groups in Syria and Iraq has worsened their living conditions. Thus, the political system of Iraq and Syria are discriminatory towards minority religious communities. On the other hand, and thanks to external support, the political participation of people from minority religious communities has increased, but it does not reach satisfactory levels. The result of the descriptive binary comparative analysis reveals two main findings. The first is that the conditions of protection of the human rights of Yazidis and Christians did not improve in Iraq throughout the period analysed. The second is that in Syria there were improvements for the Yazidis both between 2008 and 2013 and between 2014 and 2018, as well as improvements for Christians in the period 2014-2018. Finally, the result of the explanatory comparative analysis refutes the working hypothesis. The finding is that none of the conditions contemplated in it manages to explain neither the improvements registered in Syria nor the perseverance of the negative conditions registered in Iraq. The results of this research complement previous studies by revealing the unique challenges that minority communities in Iraq and Syria have faced from 2008 to 2018. Furthermore, the inconclusive nature of the explanatory study encourages further research on the matter. In any case, it is hoped that this study will help the governments of Iraq and Syria, as well as the international community, to identify and explore the problems faced by minority religious communities, so that the most suitable local and international policies can be applied to improve their social and political situations.