Abstract
Abstract This article analyzes how the seizure of the Ba'ath archives from Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 influenced the country's memory landscape and rise in pro-Ba'ath authoritarian nostalgia (hanin). Literature on the Ba'ath archives has focused on the ethics of their removal, custodianship, and laws governing war archives. However, there has been virtually no literature analyzing the long-term consequences of this removal on Iraqi collective memory or examining Ba'ath nostalgia in a larger dialogue about Iraqi archives. Has the removal of the Ba'ath records distorted Iraq's post-regime memory landscape, and is this a factor in the rise of authoritarian nostalgia? By reviewing existing literature on archives and collective memory, examining instances of Ba'ath nostalgia in Iraq, exploring effects of de-Ba'athification on the education system, and comparing Iraq's situation to South Africa, this article will contemplate the effects of archives loss on Iraqi memory distortion and authoritarian nostalgia.
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