Saddam's Word

Saddam's Word is the first serious attempt to understand modern Iraq through a close examination of the political discourse used by the Ba'th regime and its leader Saddam Hussein. By analysing political terms, concepts, and idioms as disseminated through the official Iraqi mouthpieces, Bengio illuminates Iraq's political culture and the political events that the expressions have both reflected and shaped. Not only does the study add another dimension to our understanding of the "Saddam enigma", but it also illustrates a more universal truth: that under any regime, political culture is built on the word.