The Failure of Democracy in Iraq

The Failure of Democracy in Iraq PDF Author: Hamid Alkifaey
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780429442155
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
The Failure of Democracy in Iraq studies democratization in post-2003 Iraq that has so far failed due mainly to cultural and religious reasons. There are other factors, such as legacy of the dictatorial regime, exclusionary policies, stateness problem, interference by regional powers, rentier economy and sectarianism, that have impeded democracy and contributed to its failure, but the employment of religion in politics was the most to blame. The establishment of stable democratic institutions continues to elude Iraq, 15 years after toppling the dictatorship. The post-2003 Iraq could not completely eradicate the long historical tradition of despotic governance due to deep-seated religious beliefs and tribal values, along with widening societal ethno-sectarian rifts which precluded the negotiation of firm and stable elite settlements and pacts across communal lines. The book examines how the fear by neighbouring countries of a region-wide domino effect of the Iraq democratization process caused them to adopt interventionist policies towards Iraq that helped to stunt the development of democracy. The lack of commitment by the initiator of democratic process, the United States, undermined the prospects of democratic consolidation. This is compounded by serious mistakes such as the Deba'athification and disbanding the Iraqi army and security apparatuses which caused a security vacuum the US forces were not able to fill. The Failure of Democracy in Iraq is a key resource for all students and academics interested in Democracy, Islam and Middle East Studies.

The Failure of Democracy in Iraq

The Failure of Democracy in Iraq PDF Author: Hamid Alkifaey
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780429442155
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 228

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Failure of Democracy in Iraq studies democratization in post-2003 Iraq that has so far failed due mainly to cultural and religious reasons. There are other factors, such as legacy of the dictatorial regime, exclusionary policies, stateness problem, interference by regional powers, rentier economy and sectarianism, that have impeded democracy and contributed to its failure, but the employment of religion in politics was the most to blame. The establishment of stable democratic institutions continues to elude Iraq, 15 years after toppling the dictatorship. The post-2003 Iraq could not completely eradicate the long historical tradition of despotic governance due to deep-seated religious beliefs and tribal values, along with widening societal ethno-sectarian rifts which precluded the negotiation of firm and stable elite settlements and pacts across communal lines. The book examines how the fear by neighbouring countries of a region-wide domino effect of the Iraq democratization process caused them to adopt interventionist policies towards Iraq that helped to stunt the development of democracy. The lack of commitment by the initiator of democratic process, the United States, undermined the prospects of democratic consolidation. This is compounded by serious mistakes such as the Deba'athification and disbanding the Iraqi army and security apparatuses which caused a security vacuum the US forces were not able to fill. The Failure of Democracy in Iraq is a key resource for all students and academics interested in Democracy, Islam and Middle East Studies.

Squandered Victory

Squandered Victory PDF Author: Larry Diamond
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1429900261
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
America's leading expert on democracy delivers the first insider's account of the U.S. occupation of Iraq-a sobering and critical assessment of America's effort to implant democracy In the fall of 2003, Stanford professor Larry Diamond received a call from Condoleezza Rice, asking if he would spend several months in Baghdad as an adviser to the American occupation authorities. Diamond had not been a supporter of the war in Iraq, but he felt that the task of building a viable democracy was a worthy goal now that Saddam Hussein's regime had been overthrown. He also thought he could do some good by putting his academic expertise to work in the real world. So in January 2004 he went to Iraq, and the next three months proved to be more of an education than he bargained for. Diamond found himself part of one of the most audacious undertakings of our time. In Squandered Victory he shows how the American effort to establish democracy in Iraq was hampered not only by insurgents and terrorists but also by a long chain of miscalculations, missed opportunities, and acts of ideological blindness that helped assure that the transition to independence would be neither peaceful nor entirely democratic. He brings us inside the Green Zone, into a world where ideals were often trumped by power politics and where U.S. officials routinely issued edicts that later had to be squared (at great cost) with Iraqi realities. His provocative and vivid account makes clear that Iraq-and by extension, the United States-will spend many years climbing its way out of the hole that was dug during the fourteen months of the American occupation.

Inventing Iraq

Inventing Iraq PDF Author: Toby Dodge
Publisher: Hurst & Company
ISBN: 9781849040686
Category : Great Britain
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
Offering a penetrating history of the formation of modern Iraq, Toby Dodge uncovers numerous troubling parallels between the policies of a declining British empire and those of the American government, which together form a timely and trenchant cautionary tale.

Policing Iraq

Policing Iraq PDF Author: Jesse Wozniak
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520975979
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 254

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Book Description
Policing Iraq chronicles the efforts of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq to rebuild their police force and criminal justice system in the wake of the US invasion. Jesse S. G. Wozniak conducted ethnographic research during multiple stays in Iraqi Kurdistan, observing such signpost moments as the Arab Spring, the official withdrawal of coalition forces, the rise of the Islamic State, and the return of US forces. By investigating the day-to-day reality of reconstructing a police force during active hostilities, Wozniak demonstrates how police are integral to the modern state’s ability to effectively rule and how the failure to recognize this directly contributed to the destabilization of Iraq and the rise of the Islamic State. The reconstruction process ignored established practices and scientific knowledge, instead opting to create a facade of legitimacy masking a police force characterized by low pay, poor recruits, and a training regimen wholly unsuited to a constitutional democracy. Ultimately, Wozniak argues, the United States never intended to build a democratic state but rather to develop a dependent client to serve its neoimperial interests.

Oil and Democracy in Iraq

Oil and Democracy in Iraq PDF Author: Robert Springborg
Publisher: Saqi
ISBN: 0863568874
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 81

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Book Description
This is the first major study of the alternatives confronting Iraq as it seeks to rebuild its vital oil industry while simultaneously constructing a new political system. A key challenge facing the country is to allocate the revenues oil generates in a way that avoids economic and social instability. Reviewing the present status of the industry, the authors - including Clement Henry, Massoud Karshenas, Roger Owen, Mona Said and John Sfakianakis - use comparative analysis to suggest how it might best be rebuilt. Oil and Democracy in Iraq is an important and timely assessment of Iraq's oil industry. 'Springborg's observations help understand the current stalemate in (or failure) to define the legal and administrative setting needed to undertake a real reconstruction of the national oil industry.' -- Maritza Cricorian, Istituto Affari Internazionali 'This book is exemplary, setting forth clear alternatives, as well as cautionary tales from the experiences of other states, and indeed of Iraq itself in an earlier incarnation.' -- Charles Tripp, School of Oriental and African Studies

The Iraq Study Group Report

The Iraq Study Group Report PDF Author: Iraq Study Group (U.S.)
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
Presents the findings of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, which was formed in 2006 to examine the situation in Iraq and offer suggestions for the American military's future involvement in the region.

When the Press Fails

When the Press Fails PDF Author: W. Lance Bennett
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226042863
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
A sobering look at the intimate relationship between political power and the news media, When the Press Fails argues the dependence of reporters on official sources disastrously thwarts coverage of dissenting voices from outside the Beltway. The result is both an indictment of official spin and an urgent call to action that questions why the mainstream press failed to challenge the Bush administration’s arguments for an invasion of Iraq or to illuminate administration policies underlying the Abu Ghraib controversy. Drawing on revealing interviews with Washington insiders and analysis of content from major news outlets, the authors illustrate the media’s unilateral surrender to White House spin whenever oppositional voices elsewhere in government fall silent. Contrasting these grave failures with the refreshingly critical reporting on Hurricane Katrina—a rare event that caught officials off guard, enabling journalists to enter a no-spin zone—When the Press Fails concludes by proposing new practices to reduce reporters’ dependence on power. “The hand-in-glove relationship of the U.S. media with the White House is mercilessly exposed in this determined and disheartening study that repeatedly reveals how the press has toed the official line at those moments when its independence was most needed.”—George Pendle, Financial Times “Bennett, Lawrence, and Livingston are indisputably right about the news media’s dereliction in covering the administration’s campaign to take the nation to war against Iraq.”—Don Wycliff, Chicago Tribune “[This] analysis of the weaknesses of Washington journalism deserves close attention.”—Russell Baker, New York Review of Books

Freedom in the World 2018

Freedom in the World 2018 PDF Author: Freedom House
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538112035
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1265

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Book Description
Freedom in the World, the Freedom House flagship survey whose findings have been published annually since 1972, is the standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties. The survey ratings and narrative reports on 195 countries and fifteen territories are used by policymakers, the media, international corporations, civic activists, and human rights defenders to monitor trends in democracy and track improvements and setbacks in freedom worldwide. The Freedom in the World political rights and civil liberties ratings are determined through a multi-layered process of research and evaluation by a team of regional analysts and eminent scholars. The analysts used a broad range of sources of information, including foreign and domestic news reports, academic studies, nongovernmental organizations, think tanks, individual professional contacts, and visits to the region, in conducting their research. The methodology of the survey is derived in large measure from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and these standards are applied to all countries and territories, irrespective of geographical location, ethnic or religious composition, or level of economic development.

America at the Crossroads

America at the Crossroads PDF Author: Francis Fukuyama
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300113994
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
Presents a critique of the Bush Administration's Iraq policy, arguing that it stemmed from misconceptions about the realities of the situation in Iraq and a squandering of the goodwill of American allies following September 11th.

State of Repression

State of Repression PDF Author: Lisa Blaydes
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691211752
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Book Description
A new account of modern Iraqi politics that overturns the conventional wisdom about its sectarian divisions How did Iraq become one of the most repressive dictatorships of the late twentieth century? The conventional wisdom about Iraq's modern political history is that the country was doomed by its diverse social fabric. But in State of Repression, Lisa Blaydes challenges this belief by showing that the country's breakdown was far from inevitable. At the same time, she offers a new way of understanding the behavior of other authoritarian regimes and their populations. Drawing on archival material captured from the headquarters of Saddam Hussein's ruling Ba'th Party in the wake of the 2003 US invasion, Blaydes illuminates the complexities of political life in Iraq, including why certain Iraqis chose to collaborate with the regime while others worked to undermine it. She demonstrates that, despite the Ba'thist regime's pretensions to political hegemony, its frequent reliance on collective punishment of various groups reinforced and cemented identity divisions. At the same time, a series of costly external shocks to the economy—resulting from fluctuations in oil prices and Iraq's war with Iran—weakened the capacity of the regime to monitor, co-opt, coerce, and control factions of Iraqi society. In addition to calling into question the common story of modern Iraqi politics, State of Repression offers a new explanation of why and how dictators repress their people in ways that can inadvertently strengthen regime opponents.