After 2003, when major political forces such as the Dawa Party, the Islamic Supreme Council, the National Congress led by Ahmed Chalabi, the National Accord Movement led by Iyad Allawi and the Islamic Party entered Iraq, the gap with the popular majority was wide. Most Iraqis were not familiar with the opposition figures, which was only normal following the long domination of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s regime that suppressed all forms of opposition at home.

These forces had to search for a “popular constituency.” At a time when Chalabi and Communist Party and Islamic Party leaders failed to find this constituency, Shiite Islamists fared better. In their electoral politics, they successfully used the heightened religiosity in Iraq and the popularity of the religious establishemnt (al-Hawza) in their favor. Those forces worked on emphasizing sectarian identities to turn into representatives of their communities. This was more a “communal” representation than a genuine representation of citizens.

Afterward, those parties used their increasing powers and their control of main governmental positions to create networks of followers and a wider support base. It is difficult, for example, to differentiate between the political and ideological visions of the Dawa Party and the Islamic Supreme Council, but it is easier to differentiate between patronage networks that they have within the governmental administration, the military, the media and civil society.

Previously exiled politicians currently control the most important positions: the prime minister, vice president, deputy prime minister, minister of higher education, minister of national security, minister of defense, minister of youth, minister of communications, minister of transportation, the secretary-general of the Council of Ministers, among many other positions, including posts within “independent” institutions such as the Communications and Media Commission and the Iraqi media network. With the exception of the Kurdish forces, which represent a minority, along with the movement of Muqtada al-Sadr, the main political blocs in parliament are under the leadership of politicians who returned from exile after 2003.