This revision podcast is relevant to both GCSE and IGCSE History students, although AS and IB students may find it a helpful introduction to events in the Gulf in the later 20th Century.  This episode aims explain the factors that allowed Saddam Hussein to maintain his rule of Iraq after he became President in 1979.

The podcast breaks Saddam’s rule into three key areas: his control of the Ba’ath party, his use of repression and violence against his enemies, and his use of economic and social policy alongside propaganda to maintain the support of the population.

The revision guide aims to give clear examples for each of these factors, and explain how each of them contributed to Saddam remaining in power for a quarter of a century.