Partitioning for Peace

“In Partitioning for Peace, Ivan Eland writes a common sense challenge to the conventional wisdom that stability is best served by the continuation of every country currently on the map. In fact, holding countries together can be a force for instability, as Eland convincingly demonstrates in the case of Iraq. Where people overwhelmingly don't want to be part of a state, as in the case of the Iraqi Kurds, or disagree violently about the character of their state, as is true of the Iraqi Shiites and Sunnis, partition can be the more stable and peaceful outcome.”

“In Partitioning for Peace, Ivan Eland has identified the major pitfall facing Obama’s desire to leave Iraq. He and his foreign policy experts, as well as anyone interested in an exit strategy from Iraq should read this thoughtful analysis of the ethnic conflicts afflicting that oil rich but poor country.”

“The author of the timely book, Partitioning for Peace, foresees the eventual failure of U.S. efforts to forge an effective central government in Iraq. His alternative of partition is a way to resolve serious communal divisions with deep historical roots—latent or still violent. Though implementing partition would create formidable additional complications for Iraq it nonetheless remains an option that unresolved conflicts may force upon the country irrespective of U.S. policy.”

“Eland contends that the only workable solution in Iraq is a partition ‘into a confederation of autonomous regions or into independent successor states’ in this slim polemic. The author asserts that Iraq is an artificial state that has been held together only by ‘iron-fisted rulers’ like Saddam; wracked by ‘ethno-sectarian, tribal, and clan fissures’ it faces ‘a massive civil war’ without a negotiated partition. After a historical survey of partitions—from Poland to Yugoslavia—Eland draws 15 lessons that can be applied to Iraq. . . . A ‘unified democratic government’ in Iraq might be ‘impossible’ and partition the only viable solution as the author claims.”

"With his new book, Partitioning for Peace: An Exit Strategy for Iraq, Ivan Eland, director of the Center on Peace and Liberty at the Oakland-based Independent Institute, has pretty much convinced me that a partition plan is the least-worst approach to a post-occupation Iraq. Perhaps paradoxically, he has also convinced me that what he or I or any American thinks should not be imposed on Iraq, but that the Iraqi people, as free as possible from any outside power, will have to make the decision in order for it to stick. Obviously, his book is an attempt at strong persuasion, but the bottom line is that it will have to be an Iraqi decision. . . . Mr. Eland acknowledges that partition will not be easy, and a certain amount of bloodshed, hard bargaining and subsidized voluntary migration might be involved. He offers 15 guidelines for those seeking a confederation (modeled after the European Union) rather than a federal state or separate states, stressing the importance of consent and possible oil revenue sharing. I hope some people in Iraq are reading this book."