Objective This article analyzes how the extremely authoritarian nature of the Iraqi regime affected scholarship of Iraq and shows how regime opacity and brutality constrain social science research. Methods The article examines scholarly output on Iraq using qualitative and quantitative metrics from the Saddam Hussein era and the post‐2003 period after his removal from power. Results The article finds a dramatic increase in the quantity of publications on Iraq after 2003 and a shift toward more nomothetic, theory‐building research involving Iraq. New forms of research on Iraq, including field research, embedded observation, interviews, surveys, and archival research, also became prevalent after 2003. Conclusion The progress of social science research depends both on regime transparency and regime stability. Researchers can adjust techniques to address the absence of transparency or stability, but without the combination of both, the overall venture suffers.