Spread of Technology during the Iraq and Iran War

War with Iran:

Iraq vs Iran in 80s was one of the most brutal war in the history of Iraq. It was the result of disputes in border and fear for rebellion from Iraq’s side. The war started on 22 September 1980, through Iraq’s invasion in Iran and ended on 20 August 1988, when Iran accepted the UN-brokered ceasefire. Behind this long eight year war, there lies social, political, economic and cultural reasons.

Out of many other factors, two crucial ones are selected to be discussed and analyzed in this research assignment.

Firstly, the fear for Shia rebellion and secondly seizing the oil-rich Khuzestan Province and the east bank of the Shatt al-Arab in border. In the perspective of Cultural anthropology, the factors of the war can be categorized into two vital issues. These are,

• Religious Conflict ( Shia-Sunni)
• Lack of Negotiation regarding border disputes (Shatt al-Arab)

A skilled negotiator needs the quality if being well-prepared, creative, flexible and patient problem solver. In this case, the main obstacle faced was geopolitical instability.

“Sudden changes in governments, the enactment of new legislation, wars or internal revolutions, and even natural disasters can disrupt global business negotiations either temporarily or permanently.”

The Iraqi government was not happy when the oil-rich Khuzestan Province went in Iran’s hand. On the other hand, Iran was dissatisfied because Iraq had the control over most of the waterway of the Shatt al-Arab. Instead of reaching to an agreement through negotiation, they chose to fight. This added only damage for both sides and led to the war of attrition. To obtain the benefit and avoid conflicts, the two parties must focus on long term relationship while negotiating.

Another more powerful factor of the war was cultural conflict between Shia and Sunni, two large Islamic groups. When Iranian revolution took place, the majority Shia took control over government. They saw Saddam as a brutal Sunni tyrant oppressing his country's Shia majority. Oppressing the majority was another mistake the country’s ruler did. This happened because of contrasting values. In the same way, Khomeini, the leader of Iranian revolution received oppression from U.N, USA and the Soviet Union due to promoting tyranny Shia rule in Iran. During the war, Khomeini rejected a ceasefire offered by Iraq and the war continued. To spread business globally, religious values must be kept in mind. A small leak in understanding values can create a large war. The losses of the war were devastating. Iraq is still facing the economic crisis caused by that prolonged war.

Educational system

The Republic of Iraq has a well-built educational tradition. Edu at all levels and compulsory through the. Educating girls and women, providing free education and making six years of mandatory primary education have increased overall literacy rate of nearly 80 percent. Skilled Doctors, Engineers were produced in Iraq. Due to war, many of them fled away as refugees and Iraq faced brain drain.

Education was affected in the areas of Iraq taken over by the Islamic State. According to report, ISIS has eliminated the faculties of archeology, fine arts, law, philosophy, political science, sports, and tourism, and has canceled the study of democracy, human rights, and non-Islamic cultures. This affected their education negatively.

Iraq Constant conflict with two religious organizations

Iraq faced political uncertainty and instability for many years. The central government allied with the Sunni and discriminated the Shia, or vice-versa. Dictator Saddam Hussein favored the Sunnis and oppressed the Shias. After the American army left Iraq, the new central government favored the Shias and discriminated against the Sunnis. According to Hamza Hendawi, writing for the Huffington Post:

'Sunnis are locked out of key jobs at universities and in government, their leaders banned from Cabinet meetings or even marked as fugitives. Sunnis cannot get help finding the body of loved ones killed in the war. And Shiite banners are everywhere in Baghdad.”

Political uncertainty

Iraq’s history is enriched by the ethnicity in the region. At the same time, the main reasons behind political uncertainty are the conflicts among Iraqi Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Yazidis, Christians, and other religious and ethnic groups. The main religion in Iraq is Islam followed by about 97% of population. Friction between Sunni and Shi'ite has intensified over the past 14 centuries in Iraq and throughout the rest of the Middle East. Currently 85% of Muslims in the world follow the Sunni tradition. They form a slight majority in Iraq. Many refugees fled away from Iraq due to massive killing of ethnic groups. They lost their home and the country lost their trained educated people.

Sanctions against Iraq

The United Nations Security Council imposed the sanctions against Iraq on financial and trade embargo. The purposes of the sanctions were to oblige Iraq for withdrawing their invasion from Kuwait and abolishing mass destruction weapon. But the effect of it was horrific, causing high rates of malnutrition, lack of medical supplies, and diseases from lack of clean water.

Based on the above research and analysis, I impede the diffusion of technology. Though I agree, we can encourage the diffusion of technology when technology and innovative ideas leave a positive impact on the universal

The factors that impede the diffusion of technology with each of its neighbor countries based on universal culture.

Country Economic System Marriage and Family System Educational system Social Control System Supernatural Belief

Iraq Rising the oil price and taking tolls from neighboring countries Arrange marriage system, Leaving of women’s’ parents’ house Education for women is encouraging but religious control over education lead to impeding Violating the rights of Shias, Refugees of country A number of Iraqi civil society organizations warned of the growing trend of witchcraft and sorcery in Iraqi society

Iran Iraq invasion in Iran led to horrific economic crisis for Iran No right of choosing their own partner in rural area, but it’s different urban area Rote learning in education system instead of creative learning Violating the rights of Sunni Conflicting religious belief against Sunni

Kuwait Sanction on trade and financial embargo on Iraq

Kuwait failed to maintain cultural alignment Teachers are qualified enough to teach but they don’t do their best inside the classrooms The oil-rich country relies heavily on foreign workers to perform low-paying and strenuous jobs in sectors such as construction and services Conflict among different religious groups based on their different beliefs

Turkey Influencing civil war in Iraq Early marriage in Turkey, girls are is married by the time they turn 15 Some 31.2 percent of Turkish students below 15 years of age underperformed in mathematics, sciences and reading, according to the results of the PISA test

Syria Economy has collapsed by more than 50 per cent through four years of bloody civil war Marriage with other religious groups is highly prohibited Refugees leaving the country creating brain drain Syrian Civil War on class division, Rising of terrorist group ISIS Conflicting religious belief among Shia and Sunni

References

• Iran–Iraq War, en.wikipedia.org
• “Syrian class divisions growing during civil war, helping Assad regime” theglobeandmail.com
• “Conflicts in the Middle East fueled by religious intolerance” religioustolerance.org
• “The Iran-Iraq war: 25 years on” By Roger Hardy
• “Cultural Dimension of Global Business” , 7th Edition by Gary, Ferraro, Brody, K  

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