The Political Transition in Iraq: Can Order Be Restored?

With the recent demise of dictatorial power in Iraq, the United States has increased its sphere of influence in the Middle East in order to fight the "war on terrorism" and develop democracy for the Iraqi people. Believing it can play an integral role, the United States has assumed the responsibility for the political transition of Iraq over the next decade.

As fighting between United States soldiers and Iraqi civilians persists daily, the Bush administration and other foreign powers continue to search for ways to establish political order in Iraq. In order to achieve a strong state, cohesive nation and stable democracy, Iraq must trust the leadership of the United States so that they can eventually have a democratic government.

Although developing Iraq into a modern state will be a slow and lengthy process, it is possible when the following conditions are addressed.

First, the establishment of modern industry and commerce is necessary for creating a strong state. These economic institutions helped assure the long-term survival of many democratic European countries and are extremely important in most stable political systems around the world.

In his novel Power & Choice: An Introduction to Political Science, Political Scientist W. Phillips Shively describes four motives for Third World countries to shift into a democratic setting: fatigue of some authoritarian regimes, international pressures, people's desires for security against arbitrary abuse, and most importantly, people's desire for economic development.

These reasons for democratization reveal the problems and failures with many dictatorial governments, including Iraq. Much of the current problems in Iraq today emanate from these effects of tyranny, which fails to improve the economic status of the majority of its citizens.

In particular, Shively explains the importance of economic development in creating a strong state: "The modern state developed there along with the coming of industry and of complicated commercial arrangements. Large scale industry and commerce could be carried on most easily among large populations whose members could be held together with minimal difficulty and who were willing to have their economic activities coordinated."

By providing the hardware, technology, and communication for the state, large-scale industry and commerce allow governments to control their populations in an organized manner.

In addition, modern commerce and industry offer governments the opportunity to create revenues for the state by taxation. With the arrival of industry and commerce, governments are able to spread their power more extensively over a country and its people. A robust economy produces a strong and stable state-it leaves little opportunity for a population to create political chaos and disorder.

Principally, capitalism would produce a strong state in Iraq due to its success in the United States and around the world. Political Scientist David Lane explains in his book The Rise & Fall of State Socialism that capitalism "is an ideology legitimating a form of social identity which unites people on the basis of language and history." Lane indicates that the capitalist system would unite the Iraqi people through language and history, which would ultimately lead to a more balanced and stable state.

He further states, "Marx and Engels had pointed out that capitalism could not be contained in a few industrial countries; it would spread as a world system of political economy."

Capitalism must continue to spread into Iraq as a necessary condition in forming a strong state during this period of political transition.

Another condition necessary for creating a strong state in Iraq is nationalism. These common ideas and goals shared by citizens unify and strengthen a state-citizens that can identify with each other often create coalitions.

Shively explains the positive effects of such patriotism and loyalty: "It predisposes a large and varied population to obey the single government of the state; and if the state is attacked from outside, the nationalist passion makes the defending soldiers a more formidable force than they would otherwise be."

Thus, nationalism can create stability within a government and provide for stronger military power.

Like every other state or political organization in the world, Iraq must develop a constitution in order to create a strong, unified state. This constitution must closely reflect the Iraqi people's expectations-a set of rules cannot stray too far from what most people in the state want to do.

However, it is important that a constitution remains open for revisions or amendments if changes over time occur. A proper constitution will require citizens to obey certain principles, but more importantly, it will allow people to identify with the system.

For example, certain basic rights-the right to survive, the right to free speech, and the right to privacy-must be included in any constitution to guarantee the satisfaction of the people. By tending to the needs of its citizens, Iraq must use these human rights to help create a strong state as well as stable democracy.

In addition, people that hold power in any political system should have the personal responsibility to represent its constituents fairly, without bias. Thus, those that hold the power in this new Iraqi government must make decisions for the common good of the state and not be corrupted by personal gain and power.

While citizens must obey the laws that government proposes, it is important for people to believe that the government is fair and representative. For the people of Iraq, this legitimacy of government is necessary to have for developing a strong state.

One way for a government to earn legitimacy is to recognize the people's needs. This includes security against physical assault, security of their country's borders against invasion, pride in their nation, economic security, and educational opportunity for the people.

Some people believe a government is legitimate if they have grown accustomed to obeying its laws, especially if these laws are just. This legitimacy by habit can keep a particular government in rule for a long period of time because it is trusted by the people.

A government can increase its legitimacy through the historical, religious or ethnic identity of the government leaders. This factor can be especially important for a new state where most citizens have not had the satisfaction yet to treat it legitimately.

By following certain procedures in which many people have confidence in, governments can also strengthen their legitimacy-doing this allows governments to start off with a fund of trust from its citizens. On the whole, the legitimacy of government is a necessary condition for generating a strong state in Iraq.

One of the most essential conditions necessary for establishing a strong state in Iraq is a defense. Whether great or small, every country around the world has some form of military power-this is a country's support and defense in case of war. Military power determines a country's power in international politics.

However, such power is often hard to access. Additionally, the United States must be careful to not form a military government instead of a democracy in Iraq. If the United States places too much emphasize on this condition, the military could gain more power than the government.

Large defense budgets can cause this transfer of power and other systematic issues such as severe economic decline. Thus, a strong, yet stable defense along with moderate military spending will be necessary for the establishment of a strong democratic state in Iraq.

Every government is expected to offer education as a basic service to its citizens, and Iraq must also provide the same for its population. Education advances economic development for the country, and it greatly increases the educated population around the world.

Many countries with high illiteracy rates after independence have fought this struggle for knowledge. With an increase in government spending, these low literacy rates could drastically change for the good of Iraq.

For example, the Soviet Union greatly increased its educational standards during the period of perestroika so citizens would accept the development of state socialism.

A strong system of education can later increase the amount of technological research and development to make equipment and other productive goods.

For example, Costa Rica has been able to establish an embryonic high-tech industry in the Third World. Consequently, technological products are now the largest category of Costa Rica's exports, surpassing coffee and bananas.

Most importantly however, education teaches citizens at a young age the importance of respect, cooperation and negotiation. By teaching these principles to young people in Iraq, a strong state may be established for years to come.

Nonetheless, these various conditions-the economy, system of government, values and beliefs, and system of social integration-in modern society are all interrelated. If one of these institutions fails, a change in the other three systems may occur.

Thus, modern societies are not "autonomous units"-the relationships within the economic and political structure of a country hold the power for revolutionary change. Maintaining stability within each of these systems is truly necessary to create a strong state for Iraq.

With multiple religions living together in Iraq, the cooperation among the Shi'a Muslims, Sunni Muslims, Christians, and other religious factions is necessary for Iraq to become a cohesive nation.

Author Anthony W. Marx argues in his novel Making Race and Nation that race is critical for "nation building." This argument also stands true for these different religions existing in Iraq.

Marx demonstrates how race has become a central factor in politics over the last century, comparing the apartheid and resistance in South Africa, the Jim Crow laws and the opposition for it in the United States and the question of racial democracy in Brazil.

Though developing cooperation and agreement between these religions is necessary for a cohesive nation, Marx also explains that differences, whether racial or religious, must always be administered by modern political systems: "The end of formal Jim Crow and the apartheid does not mean that race has disappeared or will easily disappear as a salient issue in the United States or even South Africa. Official racial domination ran its course, but that is not the end of the processes it reinforced...Unmaking racial domination does not unmake the prejudice upon which domination was built and then reinforced, nor dissolve a now-consolidated racial identity. The scars of race remain deeply embedded."

Although racial discrimination slowly evaporated in the United States and South Africa, race, religion and ethnicity all exist as personal differences that must be kept in mind. These marks of prejudice and racial domination can never be fully removed from any state, and Iraq must remain conscious to avoid any further conflict between religious groups.

To maintain a cohesive nation in Iraq, the government must represent each sect so that civil war does not arise-therefore, there is no quick fix to the issues of race and religion in Iraq.

While cooperation must be maintained between the various religious groups in Iraq, justice and reconciliation are also necessary for a cohesive nation.

In Political Scientist Andrew Rigby's novel Justice and Reconciliation: After the Violence, he explains that it is important to remember the golden rule: "to treat your neighbor as you would have them treat yourself."

Rigby shows that it is also important to hold people accountable for their misdeeds and make them suffer the consequences.

On the other hand, conflict is part of each and every sphere of life. In countries coming out of violence and division, nonviolence is extremely important to uphold. In particular, Iraq must concentrate on leaving violent methods to resolve their systematic issues.

Rigby explains this focus on letting go of past events and coping with loss: "But individuals, like collectivities, for the sake of peace, must somehow become capable of accepting loss and moving on. This ability to let go of the pain of the past is at the heart of what many understand to be forgiveness...In order not to remain trapped in the confines of past injuries and injustices, individuals must learn to forsake the search for vengeance."

The people of Iraq must put aside these injustices sustained during the dictatorship in Iraq and begin to progress peacefully into a democratic state. This peace and nonviolence will draw Iraq and its people closer together to create a cohesive nation in the Middle East.

In achieving a stable democracy in Iraq, the tenets of liberal democracy must be both implemented and followed.

Essentially, democracy means "the rule by the people." With the United States' help, liberal democracy should be feasible and desirable in Iraq. Unlike the dictatorial government of Iraq, liberal democracy protects individual freedoms and restricts the concentration of power in government.

Political Scientist John Peeler explains in his novel Building Democracy in Latin America that both Spain and Portugal struggled with the issue of special rights and privileges in the fifteenth century: "Thus, the practice of absolute royal authority actually carried with it a persistent and widespread assumption that one of the boons most to be desired from such authority was the grant of special privileges and exemptions that, in effect, committed the royal authority to refrain from exercising its full, absolute rights."

With that said, liberal democracy ensures a system that chooses its government by popular, competitive election while offering civil liberties to its citizens.

As Thomas Jefferson summed up the basic principle of liberalism with, "That government is best which governs least."

For now, liberal democracy has proven to be the best system in providing rights for its citizens and eliminating the abuse of government. While Peeler states that liberal democracy is conducive to the structural conditions in Latin America and can ultimately achieve stability, this same thought holds true for Iraq's current situation.

Through the implementation of each of these necessary systems, Iraq may have difficulty in creating a strong state, cohesive nation, and stable democracy. This difficulty would arise from the difference in history and culture between the United States and Iraq.

With the Iraqi population being isolated into several religious factions, the United States might find it difficult to unite a holy nation. This religious fanaticism may create problems for various systems within the state, such as the economy, the legitimacy of government, and the educational policy.

Keeping this in mind, the United States must be willing to constantly monitor its position and compromise in this transition to democracy.

Nevertheless, through full cooperation and negotiation of both sides, the United States and Iraq can hopefully work together to create an exemplary state for the rest of the Middle East.