During the first three decades after independence in 1922, Irag pursued a foreign policy that was associated with an expansive conception of national inter-est. The nationalist leadership in Baghdad actively championed Arab unity and attempted to exercise authority over neighbouring countries. This external posture shifted in the early 1950s to a foreign policy rooted in a more restricted and territory-based notion of national interest. Why Iragi officials adopted diplomatic practices congruent with “Westphalian sovereignty” is hard to explain in terms of the dynamics of state formation, but is closely connected to the structure of the local economy and struggles among domestic social forces.‬