The Ba`th Party and Political Culture in Iraq The Iraqi state under the Ba`th party prioritized the political indoctrination of the party members as well as the rest of the populace. The Party and its branches used two interrelated ways to develop a culture of indoctrination: al-thaqafah al-hizbiyyah (the political education) and al-thaqafa al-`amma (general culture). Ba`thist cultural policy was managed by the Ministry of Culture and Information which played an important role in the tawjih fikri (mental guidance) of the population by means of the media, Saddam Hussein's copious speeches, and special education and cultural programs targeted at different sections of society. Ba`thifcation of the masses was no less important than the indoctrination of Party members, and the Party paid special attention to educating the masses in general, and the youth in particular, about national culture. Similar to other authoritarian regimes, the intention was to create a "new man" and a "new society". The paper, based on archival sources from the Ba`th party, focuses on how the Party dealt with "guiding" its own members through madrasat al-i`dad al-hizbi (Party Preparatory School) and intensive cultural activities. The paper discusses how these schools operated, their curricula and different aspects of the Party's cultural activities, such as Party publications and the role of libraries in the cities and towns of Iraq.