386 Resisting Publics
sphere in the context of Arab politics and society an example of apply-
ing an “imported” concept? Further, deploying the concept to Arab
societies raises questions from an “ordinary language” philosophy per-
spective. Because the concept does not enjoy widespread currency in
the Arab world, the lack of socially agreed-upon rules or criteria for its
application, either by Arab or Western scholars, runs the risk of creating
an analytic discourse that can be accessed by only a small circle of aca-
demics and intellectuals. How can a concept, whose Arabic equivalent—
al-majāllāt al-‘āmma—resonates minimally with Arab intellectuals and
the educated Arab public, be of use in analyzing Iraqi and Arab politics,
disseminating the results of that analysis and influencing politics in any
meaningful manner?^4
e second set of concerns is theoretical and relates to the larger Th
framework within which to contextualize the concept of the public sphere
in Iraq. What is the nature of the Iraqi public sphere? When did it make
its historical appearance and in what form? What are the historical refer-
ents, specifically institutions and processes, that would allow us to speak
of a public sphere in Iraq? What were the factors that promoted its devel-
opment, particularly at a certain historical juncture? Is the public sphere
limited to particular locales and social strata of Iraqi society? What con-
tributions has the public sphere in Iraq made to social and political life?
Answers to these questions will allow us to delineate more precisely what
we mean by an Iraqi public sphere as well as to assess its impact. As I will
argue, the rise of the public sphere cannot be divorced from the political
economy of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Iraqi society and
the manner in which tribe, ethnicity and social class interacted to produce
the Iraqi nationalist movement. In other words, the concept must be his-
torically contextualized if the dynamics that determined its development,
structure and impact are to be adequately understood.
f we can speak of an “Iraqi public sphere” from the early part of I
the twentieth century, and I will argue that we can, what are the nor-
mative implications of this analysis? Does the concept’s application to
Iraq enhance our understanding of the possibilities of reestablishing
civil society and promoting democracy in the post-Ba‘thist era? What
are the concept’s implications for those seeking to create a more partici-
patory and tolerant Iraq? While the intention of applying concepts that