The 1948 Wathba Revisited: Comrade Fahd and the Mass Appeal of Iraqi Communism

Abstract The 1948 Wathba protests in Iraq crystallized the communist party’s success in mobilizing ordinary citizens around democratic ideals, against the neo-feudal politics of the British-controlled monarchy. This mobilization bore fruit in the 1958 revolution, but is often overlooked by historians who focus on the failure of a communist revolution. The inclusive, cross-sectarian democratic movement is remembered, but not revived in post-Ba`thist Iraq today.