Reconstructing Iraq's Budgetary Institutions

Consistent with the literature on state building, failed states, peacekeeping and foreign assistance, this book argues that budgeting is a core state activity necessary for the operation of a functional government. Employing a historical institutionalist approach, this book first explores the Ottoman, British and Ba'athist origins of Iraq's budgetary institutions. The book next examines American pre-war planning, the Coalition Provisional Authority's rule-making and budgeting following the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the mixed success of the Coalition's capacity-building programs initiated throughout the occupation. This book sheds light on the problem of 'outsiders' building states, contributes to a more comprehensive evaluation of the Coalition in Iraq, addresses the question of why Iraqis took ownership of some Coalition-generated institutions, and helps explain the nature of institutional change.

• The first book that examines the American-led Coalition's efforts to reconstruct Iraq's vital budgetary system after the 2003 invasion as a key element of its statebuilding and counterinsurgency strategy
• Analyzes how the Coalition attempted to help the Iraqis budget their massive oil revenues to serve the broader counterinsurgency strategy of providing essential services to the Iraqi people
• Sheds light on the problem of 'outsiders' building states, contributes to a more comprehensive evaluation of the Coalition in Iraq, answers why Iraqis took ownership of some Coalition-generated institutions, and helps explain the nature of institutional change