A Century of Changing Perceptions of "Christian Militias" in Iraq

Abstract

This article traces the history of Iraq's Assyrian Christians in armed struggle from the second half of the twentieth century to the contemporary era. It argues that, while "Christian militias" are not a new phenomenon, their modes of engage ment in sectarian politics are new and representative of Iraq in the aftermath of the 2003 United States–led invasion. By contrast, during the twentieth century, and particularly during the rule of the Ba'th Party (1968–2003), Assyrian activists were involved in secular and leftist political movements confronting the regime from within the larger Iraqi opposition. The history of this earlier, foundational period is contextualized to make sense of the sectarian politics of the post-2003 period. I make use of archival sources retrieved from Baghdad and Mosul as well as oral interviews, periodicals, memoirs, and songs in both Arabic and Aramaic.