Problematic Archives: Documentary Knowledge of Modern Iraq between Ex- and Repatriation

Abstract

The transfer of Iraq's Ba'th Party archives to the United States in the wake of the 2003 invasion triggered an ongoing debate about patrimony and the legality of the removal of government documents in military conflict. However, the appropriation of Iraq's archival heritage did not start in 2003 and does not concern international law only. Parallel to debates over restoring artifacts in Western museums to the global South, this article argues in favor of granting control of these documents to the people of Iraq. Such access would grant them the sovereignty that comes with the writing of their own history and the creation of their own archives.