State and nation building from the perspective of the Iraqi intelligentsia (A sociological study in kind from the Shiite elite)

State-building and nation-building projects in the field of political sociology involve many theoretical approaches, economic, political and cultural. As the educated elite in every society is the most important link in building ideas, criticizing power, and directing public opinion, with its potentials and knowledge tools, its role is sometimes crucial in countries emerging from the dictatorial system towards an open democratic system. After the fall of the Saddam regime in 2003, the Shiite intelligentsia was forced to criticize the ruling authorities, conduct demonstrations, and demand reforms that were not properly highlighted academically. This study seeks to understand the perspective of the educated Shiite elite on the project of building the state and the nation in Iraq. For this reason, and through structured interviews and qualitative methodology, the study reached a number of results, most notably the failure of the Shiite intellectuals to resolve their position on the limits of religion interference in the state, at the time they began sharp on everything related to Shiite political Islam. Disagreement, frustration and pessimism have been dominant features of dialogue with Shiite intellectuals, acknowledging that there is no clear-cut project for Iraq's educated elite to build a nation-state in Iraq.