Friday, September 26, 2003 A Democratic Report on Iraq
National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)
The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) is a nonprofit organization working to strengthen and expand democracy worldwide. Calling on a global network of volunteer experts, NDI provides practical assistance to civic and political leaders advancing democratic values, practices and institutions. NDI works with democrats in every region of the world to build political and civic organizations, safeguard elections, and to promote citizen participation, openness and accountability in government. NDI Board of Directors & Senior Advisory Committee include: Madeleine K. Albright, Chairman. Senior Advisory Committee includes: Bill Bradley, Mario M. Cuomo, Michael S. Dukakis, Richard A. GephardtNow, look at what they found in Iraq: (PDF file) NDI�s overwhelming finding � in the north, south, Baghdad, and among secular, religious, Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish groups in both urban and rural areas � is a grateful welcoming of the demise of Saddam�s regime and a sense that this is a pivotal moment in Iraq�s history. A leading member of a newly formed umbrella movement, The Iraqi Coalition for Democracy, put it this way, � We already see the positive results the Americans have brought � we are free to talk to you, to organize a movement and party, free to meet and demonstrate and all of this was made possible by the Americans.�Of equal importance, the assessment team found among Iraqis a debilitating anxiety and disappointment brought on by rapid and unprecedented change, uncertainty about the future, confusion about the will and plans of the coalition authority and a profound lack of confidence in their own ability to harness the centrifugal forces threatening to tear the country apart. One former general, previously part of the Free Officers Movement, summed up the state of Iraqi �anxious ambivalence� this way, �People need a rest. They need security and jobs and, maybe after a year they can be educated about political parties and democracy and then they can choose their future properly. They�ve gotten rid of Saddam but now we don�t know what to do�. When asked if the military or the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) should withdraw from Iraq, most people expressed a sentiment similar to one we heard from a former secretary general of the Iraqi Communist Party, �If the CPA were to withdraw from Iraq, there would be a civil war and democrats would have no chance�. Now, here's a little of what their focus groups found: (PDF file) The Coalition Provisional Authority and Iraq�s new Governing Council are
constructing an airplane even while it is barreling down the runway about to take off � they
will be working to set up the governing structures of Iraq even while it is responding to
immediate crises in security and the provision of basic services. This presents daunting
challenges on many fronts and raises several sensitive questions.
Iraqis are ready to move beyond their grisly past and build a new country based on
the rule of law and some form of democratic rule. Although Iraqis� feelings about
democracy combine excitement, fear, and concern for defending their culture, there is a
consensus for the basic elements of a democratic system: a society governed by fair rules,
and not the ruthless authoritarianism they knew under Saddam; a government that listens
and is responsive to citizens, rather than Saddam�s closed system of government which
responded only to the interests of a select few; and a government that creates opportunities
for all to share in the country�s wealth, rather than a corrupt government that stole the
country�s wealth and built palaces while average Iraqis got the bare minimum.
Three months after the fall of Saddam�s regime, three challenges are particularly
daunting. The first challenge is establishing law and order. Without this foundation, chaos
and instability will continue to undermine efforts to build a new Iraq. Iraqis are pleading for
basic governance � police to keep the peace, officials take decisions, and a representative
who listens to concerns.
The second building block is writing a new constitution, setting the legal framework,
and establishing new government structures. Having suffered under Saddam�s rule, Iraqis
are very clear about what they do not want, but they may need some time to figure out what
they want. Iraqis may need time to sort out many thorny questions, including how to
balance the competing interests of different ethnic groups and what is the right way, if at all,
to include values from the many different religious faiths in shaping their new government.
The third building block is creating new ways to organize political debate and
channel the will of all Iraqis, both men and women. Iraq has witnessed an explosion of new
political parties since the fall of Saddam, but most of these parties lack credibility at the
popular level. New media outlets and newspapers appear every week, and Iraqis have
opportunities to express themselves more openly than they have in decades. Still, a great
deal needs to be done to foster the development of a knowledgeable citizenry capable of
exercising its rights with some wisdom. This will require, among other things, access to a
broad array of information about the world and coherent models about the workings of free
societies.
In trying to build popular momentum for constitutional democracy in Iraq wherein
majority rule is tempered by respect for the rights of minorities and tolerance of diversity, it
will be necessary to build on those attributes of democracy that address strongly felt needs.
To the extent Iraqis identify "democracy" with structured liberty, rather than chaos and
criminality, they may be motivated to embrace and enlarge democratic institutions and
habits.
In the present aftermath of Saddam's criminal regime, where the most atrocious
crimes against persons were committed by agents of the state and were widely known, it is
reasonable that Iraqis should hanker for decency in the public sphere. While Islamic values
seem to many to provide a basis for a good government, there are reservations in diverse
quarters about to large a role for clerics. However, if Western-style democracy is seen as a
system that fosters immoral behaviors, rather than protecting decency, then it will be quickly
discredited.
Iraq faces a unique opportunity to transform its politics and create a new democratic
government. Though the country bears the visible, raw scars of three decades of tyrannical
rule by the Ba�ath party and Saddam Hussein and is plagued with sporadic violence and the
disruption of basic public services, the political situation in Iraq is evolving rapidly. The
outcome is not yet certain.
If men and women across the country come to believe their voices will be heard and
their basic needs met in a new Iraq, then the liberation of the country from Saddam Hussein
may yet lead to the establishment of a recognizably democratic country. These focus
groups show that the Iraqi public understands that these efforts may take some time, and
that they are anxious to get started. -- posted by Chuck at Friday, September 26, 2003 | E-mail | Permalink | Main |
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