Iraqi Politics Must Shake Legacy of Dictatorship
Although it has been 10 years since Saddam Hussein was ousted by US forces, Iraqi politics remain mired in the legacy of dictatorship.
Do the members of the Iraqi political class believe in the slogans of democracy that they call for? This is a vital question in today's Iraq, where actual political practices often appear inconsistent with the democratic framework of the new Iraqi state.
In any normal democratic system, elections are an opportunity to show the level of competition between adversaries. However, elections are only one phase and one part of democracy. The stage characterized by accusations and collisions that accompanies elections shifts immediately following the elections to a stage of competition, this time within the framework of political achievement.
The political tension that has characterized Iraq for years can be partially attributed to a misunderstanding of the essence of democracy as an exercise not restricted to just the ballot box.
Interesting, Iraqi politicians don't appear "democratic," even though it has been ten years since a dictatorial regime was replaced with another, which, although democratic in form, is stilled mired in dictatorial practices.
