Jacob Eriksson has a new book published
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Posted on Friday 25 September 2026
Jacob Eriksson has a new book published with Manchester University Press
Jacob Eriksson has a new book published with Manchester University Press, entitled A victor's peace in Iraq: ISIS and the mediated state.
Despite a lack of systemic reform following its military victory over ISIS in 2017, Iraq has defied many expectations and avoided a return to renewed civil war. This book argues that the prevailing victor’s peace has emerged by default rather than by design, reflecting pragmatism and power rather than normative principles. While this contributes to its sustainability, it is simultaneously a fragile peace vulnerable due to limited state legitimacy, corruption, and an economy dependent on volatile international oil markets. Conceptually, this book argues that the emergence of peace and the state should be understood not as distinct processes but as co-constitutive, with actions taken in the post-war environment inevitably affecting the nature of both peace and the state. Although the Iraqi state enjoys limited legitimacy, peace has been maintained by a combination of other actors such as tribes, militia, and civil society actors who each contribute to the overall legitimacy of the prevailing peace. Through detailed analysis of the political system, the security arena, and processes of transitional justice and reconciliation, the book argues that Iraq reflects a mediated state, with complex relations between state and society that defy conventional state/non-state binaries. Together, these actors contribute to the mixture of legitimacy, acquiescence, and coercion that characterises contemporary Iraq and its victor’s peace.