Ned Parker "Machiavelli in Mesopotamia: Nouri al-Maliki Builds the Body Politic" MIT Press Journal, Spring 2009. 

Money quote: "Whether he stays prime minister or not after this year, al-Maliki's legacy is likely to be the reintroduction of the traditional strong-man model into Iraqi politics--not as brutal as Saddam Hussein, but a leader who is willing to quiet the nation through both patronage and an iron fist."

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