Historical perspective of Iraq before 1941 -- Iraq during World War II -- Iraq after World War II: domestic economic crisis and sociopolitical tensions and the struggle for seniority in the inter-Arab arena -- The earthquake of the Iraqi Regime: the Wathba Crisis and Iraq's role in the 1948 War in Palestine -- The economic development of Iraq and the social processes of the 1950s -- The political conflict in Iraq between 1950 and 1954: failed attempts at reform within the regime -- The monarchy in Iraq versus the radical revolutionary forces in the Arab world, 1954-1958 -- The 1958 Revolution and the Qasim Regime -- The seizure of power by the Baʻth and its overthrow in 1963 -- The rule of the ʻArif Brothers, 1963-1968: from Pan-Arab nationalism and socialist etatism to ideological confusion and the weakness of political forces -- The rise of Saddam Husayn's regime.