In Jerusalem and Northern Ireland, territorial disputes have often seemed indivisible, unable to be solved through negotiation, and prone to violence and war. This book challenges the conventional ...wisdom that these conflicts were the inevitable result of clashing identities, religions, and attachments to the land. On the contrary, it was radical political rhetoric, and not ancient hatreds, that rendered these territories indivisible. Stacie Goddard traces the roots of territorial indivisibility to politicians' strategies for legitimating their claims to territory. When bargaining over territory, politicians utilize rhetoric to appeal to their domestic audiences and undercut the claims of their opponents. However, this strategy has unintended consequences; by resonating with some coalitions and appearing unacceptable to others, politicians' rhetoric can lock them into positions in which they are unable to recognize the legitimacy of their opponent's demands. As a result, politicians come to negotiations with incompatible claims, constructing territory as indivisible.
Situates an Assyrian narrative within the history of modern IraqThis book details the narrative and history of Iraq in the 20th century and reinserts the Assyrian experience as an integral part of ...Iraq's broader contemporary historiography. It is the first comprehensive account to contextualize this native people's experience alongside the developmental processes of the modern Iraqi state. Using primary and secondary data, this book offers a nuanced exploration of the dynamics that have affected and determined the trajectory of the Assyrians' experience in 20th century Iraq.Key Features: Includes oral history and ethnographic research on the Assyrians: Presents comprehensive and in-depth data pertaining to Iraqi Assyrian villages as well as ancient churches, monasteries, schools and other material culture edifices: Utilises Assyrian-Aramaic/Syriac as well as Arabic primary sources to illuminate and corroborate the Assyrian narrative of Iraqi history
