Politics of Iraq

[P]ublic opinion does matter in Iraq. People speak their minds. People are engaged, are interested. ~ Barham Salih

The politics of Iraq take place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic. It is a multi-party system whereby the executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers as the head of government, as well as the president of Iraq, and legislative power is vested in the Council of Representatives and the Federation Council.

Quotes

• I hope others in the region will see a lot of hope and positive tendencies in our democracy... We have decided that we’ll accept that we are different. We are very eager to keep and protect our diversity.
  • Haider al-Abadi, as quoted in "Iraq’s Surprise: The Persistence of Democracy" (17 November 2017), by Yaroslav Trofimov, The Wall Street Journal

• Iraq — the country identified in American minds with chaos and endless warfare — is a democracy. Citizens vote, and leaders must respond to their demands; otherwise, they won’t be reelected.
  • Christian Caryl, "Iraq’s president explains why the U.S. must reengage with Baghdad" (20 March 2019), The Washington Post

• Iraq has at least more political pluralism and civic space than most of its Arab neighbors, and that is something to appreciate and try to further support and nurture.
  • Larry Diamond, as quoted in "Iraq’s Surprise: The Persistence of Democracy" (17 November 2017), by Yaroslav Trofimov, The Wall Street Journal

• Iraq’s democratic and more importantly constitutional structures that were put in place as a result of 2003 and U.S. direct involvement have weathered 12 years, ISIS seizing one-third of the country, a simultaneous drop by 50% of its main economic driver oil, and conflict with Kurdistan.
  • James Jeffrey, as quoted in "Iraq’s Surprise: The Persistence of Democracy" (17 November 2017), by Yaroslav Trofimov, The Wall Street Journal

• [T]he ones who are saying that the whole idea of democratizing Iraq, even over a long period of time, is laughable. Needless to say, I find that an extremely offensive line of argument. And of course it's a very conservative appeal to the status quo of the Arab world, which is a very unhappy situation.
  • Kanan Makiya, as quoted in "The Dissident" (3 November 2002), by Laura Secor, The Boston Globe, Massachusetts: Globe Newspaper Company, p. D1

• People say to me, "Kanan, this is ridiculous, democracy in Iraq, a complete pipe dream," ... That's realism. You know, in a way, the realists are right, they are always right. Even when they are morally wrong.
  • Kanan Makiya, as quoted in "Regrets Only?" (7 October 2007), by Dexter Filkins, The New York Times Magazine, New York: The New York Times Company

• Not holding elections will be even more dangerous to us than ISIS, because in that case the democratic process will end.
  • Nouri al-Maliki, as quoted in "Iraq’s Surprise: The Persistence of Democracy" (17 November 2017), by Yaroslav Trofimov, The Wall Street Journal

• We need to deliver. Otherwise we will not be able to justify what we do in the eyes of our public. And public opinion does matter in Iraq. People speak their minds. People are engaged, are interested...
  • Barham Salih, as quoted in "Iraq’s president explains why the U.S. must reengage with Baghdad" (20 March 2019), by Christian Caryl, The Washington Post

• Iraq's improbable political experiment has endured. In an increasingly repressive and authoritarian part of the world, this nation of 40 million people stands apart as a rare—though still deeply flawed—democracy. Iraq's elected leaders insist that, despite their country’s many travails, it still has something to teach the rest of the Middle East.
  • Yaroslav Trofimov, "Iraq’s Surprise: The Persistence of Democracy" (17 November 2017), The Wall Street Journal

External links

• Encyclopedic article on Politics of Iraq on Wikipedia