Post-ISIS Iraq and the Status of the Sunnis

From a historical perspective, Sunnis in Iraq have continued to enjoy a favored position in political and social arenas until the fall of Saddam that is also addressed as the “Golden Age” of Sunnis. Therefore, although they pursued a short-term interaction with the “newly established political order” upon the fall of Saddam, but in the long run they adopted an intensified antagonist point of view and followed an opposition approach.
Accordingly, by intriguing the Sunni communities, the internal and external pro-Sunnis actors succeed to employ political elites and Sunnis’ social framework to bring waves of opposition to the central government. This include approaching Baathists and Al Qaeda and aligning with ISIS. However, some agreed on relative-balance to take advantage of situation and win their demands.
In general, it could be said that since the downfall of Saddam until the current situation, the Sunnis communities have demonstrated a combined model of relative political involvement, sanctions and confrontation with the central government. However, observing the realities of the current situation and malicious deeds of some “external players and pro-Sunnis elites “in post-ISIS era, it is expected that this confrontation approach will eventually turn toward interaction approach with the “newly established political order”. This paper by underlining the reasons for the emergence of this perception, attempts to investigate the status of Iraqi Sunnis in post-ISIS era.