Iraqi Constitution (A Divided Future)
Abstract
The Iraqi election in 2005 is viewed by most as a success for the Kurds, they won the large number of seats as an appositive and deserved outcome. However, many obstacles stand in the way of their autonomy. These include the style of government in Iraq, as many, including the Arabs and Turkmen of Kirkuk, oppose the federal state structure. In addition, the claim of Kirkuk has instilled fear among Iraq’s neighbours and poses a threat to the future of the Iraqi State itself. The city has become a source of ethnic-sectarian conflicts, as well as the possibility of a regional conflict. This article explains that, what would happen if Iraq proves to be a failed State that cannot sustain a federal democracy? Rather, it will explain that whether federalism will become the road to secession for the Kurds, as the language of the new constitution is problematic and illustrates a lack of sophistication in constitutional writing.
KEYWORDS: Iraqi Constitution, Federalism system, Secession, Article 140 other contested Articles.
I. Introduction
In post-Saddam Iraq, the Iraqi Kurds have managed to gain formal limited autonomy in the form of the IKR within the Iraqi State, as stipulated in the constitution. Today, the IKR rules much of the Kurdish areas of Iraq and the Kurdish Parliament exercises significant legislative powers. The region of Kurdistan after Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) in 2003 has been recognised as a
When one thinks of Iraq war, the two key players are perceived to be George W. Bush and Saddam Hussein. As leaders of the opposing sides, they are also perceived as the decision makers. In the individual and sub group levels of analysis, toppling of the Hussein’s regime in Iraq was a success. This success
Iraq and Iran have been subjected to a civil war since the seventh century (Murphy 1). This existing problem began because of political and theological divergence, but with the help of outside forces such as Britain, Russia, and North America, it developed into a more complex crisis.
Rather than fix the numerous problems, the KRG leaders utilize false rhetoric and fictitious scenarios to distract the Kurdish citizens from the struggles of their daily lives. Accordingly, the American public must employ its democratic power to compel the United States into using fiery propaganda and military strength to unite the Kurds and overthrow the KRG leaders. With the completion of the coup and the current officials replaced with active problem-solvers, the Kurds can fulfill their desire: a pillar of strength in a land of
Iraq is very attractive to colonizers due to its high amounts of oil and other natural resources. this made it the perfect target for a post world war one great britain, who needed oil to supply their machinery and troops after they had used so much of it. after the ottoman empire fell after WWI, Iraq became a mandate of the British empire in 1919 and was used primarily for oil and gas. when they took over many arab states after the ottomans, they drew random borders, which mixed ethnicities and beliefs. This resulted in many conflicts between cultures, the kurds and sunnis, and made life for many in the country hard. The anti colonial movement began the next year in 1920, during the Iraqi revolts, which were
Separation of powers is essential in a federal system, so an upper chamber of the house like the one modeled after the U.S Congress, the same way Iraq’s federal system of government would adopt this model. The 18 units in the upper house would be based on the regional representation it would give the regions a voice at the center, check the centralization of power and by providing a second set of local elites, and lower regional corruption (page 2). Whereas, a unitary system of government could possibly promote corruption and would hurt the Iraqi people and country. In a centralized/unitary form of government there would be no one to oversee if the central government is abusing its’ power, it solely lies in the power of the central government,
Britain was not the first to colonize Iraq but was the last and played a big role in how they are today. Before Britain Iraq was under control by the Ottoman Empire from the 16th century until 1920 when the Ottoman Empire split up. The Ottoman empire took advantage of them. Iraq was part of Mesopotamia and lacked a strong government while under control of the Ottoman Empire. Iraq didn't become Iraq until after WW1 when Basra, Mosul and Baghdad were combined to form Iraq. Britain gained control of Iraq from the League of Nations in 1920. The effects of Great Britain's rule on Iraq can still be felt today on how they messed up their political system.
At its current position, the Iraqi government is slightly more stable, but not good enough. Over the past few years, Iraq has approved a constitution, begun holding parliamentary and provincial elections, but groups are still competing to have the most control over Iraq’s central government. Iraq’s government is weak; during an interview with Kurdish Iraqi President Fuad Masum, has few to no answers
The decision to invade Iraq was perhaps the largest foreign policy blunder in modern Western history. Its immense cost—in the thousands of lives lost, trillions of dollars spent, and an unquantifiable amount of political capital squandered—represents an immense failure at many levels of government. Today, even though Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship and security state have been dismantled, Iraq remains ruined: its economy is in shambles, sectarian strife is rampant, and the Islamic State, a terrorist army, controls much of the northern and western parts of the nation. Iraq is a “state” in name only. In her memoir “The Unraveling” documenting her experiences in Iraq, Professor Emma Sky argues that to identify who is responsible for this failure, blame cannot be placed on just one actor. Both Western policymaking blunders—from the marginalization of experts to de-Baathification to the support of Nouri al-Maliki—and Iraqi politicians’ self-serving agendas acted in concert to exacerbate the sectarianism that ultimately tore the country apart.
The legacies left behind as a result of post-world war 1and 2 has caused tremendous problems that still occur in the twenty-first century. The carving of formal Palestine has fueled issues between ethnicities in the present day states known as: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. As a result, promises that were made prior to the war, of what lands would be awarded to the negotiating actors had been broken; the Sunni/Shia conflict in the present day, was also the result of Sunni leaders in the in the 1920s. In this paper, you will see how these conflicts have grown over time.
Every once in a while it is a good idea to take a step back and question why we believe the things that we do. Reading Plato's Republic reminded me of this, and forced me to re-evaluate my belief that everybody should be entitled to a democracy. Previously, I could not understand why such hostility came from other countries, especially Iraq, on the good and honorable act of the U.S. by freeing Iraq from a dictator. Additionally, Iraq is finally able to become a democracy, where the people decide how to run the country. In his Republic, Plato constructs a convincing argument about the evils and deterioration that result from such a permissive style of living. Similarly, many Iraqi's have also spoken out against the fundamental
On August 2, 1990, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait began and the history of the Gulf War unfolded. The history of Iraq continues until the new century as one of turmoil, deception and violence. At the turning point Iraq holds today, its decision of a governmental system will ultimately determine its future and future successes as an internationally respected nation. With it's new government, the diverse cultures and peoples of Iraq, instead of being alienated and controlled as in the former governmental system, need to be fairly represented and hold power within themselves in a local government and a strong, unified central government over that--all of which would be created with a strong constitution.
A unitary system has characteristics in which it has a strong form of central government. The executive branches of government are structured in one of two ways: unified in a single, strong presidency combining the powers of the head of state and the head of the government, or it can be divided between a head of state (president) and a head of government (a prime minister) (Dawisha, page 3). There is a heavy amount of power in the central government. There are both advantages and disadvantages in this system if Iraq were to take on a unitary form of government. Another way in conducting a unitary system would be having a strong unitary system of government, which means the president would have most of the power. So ultimately the power and
In order to fully interpret the nation of Iraq’s holistic condition during and after the Saddam Era, Social, Political, and Economic factors must be weighed accordingly and in contrast to each other. In order to do this, the span of years leading up to 1989, and
Kurdistan is a region that has existed in turmoil and is the “never was” country. The Kurds are the fourth largest ethnic group of the Middle East, numbering between 20 and 25 million. Approximately 15 million live in the regions of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria, an area they called Kurdistan, yet they do not have a country of their own. Formal attempts to establish such a state were crushed by the larger and more powerful countries in the region after both world wars. When the Ottoman Empire collapsed after World War I, the Kurds were promised their own independent nation under the Treaty of Sevres. In 1923 however, the treaty was broken allowing Turkey to maintain its status and not allowing the Kurdish people to have a nation to call
In recent years, the Iraqi nation has endured a crisis that will forever remain in the hearts and minds of the Middle Eastern culture. However, the outcomes of the War on Iraq will not change the long-lasting and passionate traditions and memories that have been held in the country for decades. One major event that happened in Iraq’s history is that on October 3, 1932 Iraq was established as an independent nation. Iraq has always been a country in which respect and generosity have been highly valued and play an important cultural role in everyday life. Additionally, approximately ninety-five percent of Iraqis are Muslim, and therefore Islam is the official religion of this nation (Gutierrez 1). Furthermore, Iraq is a