ABSTRACT
Changes in border function can be said to mirror changes in political relationships. We cannot therefore hope to understand these borders in a political vacuum. This chapter examines the reasons for the Iraqi border’s current identity crisis; reasons that have been triggered by the fallout from the 2003 invasion of the country and the subsequent disintegration and partial rebuilding of the Iraqi state. Despite General Petraeus’ policy shift in 2007 with ‘the surge’ that moved US strategy from a ‘top down’ to ‘bottom up’ approach, border security dynamics remain important indices of the identity and capabilities of the emerging ‘new Iraq’.
