Sherko Kirmanj offers a balanced, critical analysis of the evolution of Iraqi national identity and the process of national integration, tracing a history of antagonisms and violence that began with the creation of the state in 1921. Challenging approaches that variously blame the legacy of the Baathist regime or the US invasion for the sectarian violence that plagues Iraq, Kirmanj delves into the political and social dynamics involved across the decades. His focus is on the enduring conflicts between Iraq's Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds—and on the challenges of forging a nation when the groups involved share no collective identity or attachment to a single homeland.