The model of consociational democracy: Iraq example

The consociational democracy model, regarded as one of the most successful democratic political systems for countries with divided societies, has been implemented in Iraq for the establishment of a democratic system in the wake of the US occupation in 2003. This model, however, has been harshly criticized in Iraq. The aim of this thesis is to examine to what degree the post-2003 political system in Iraq is compatible with the consociational democracy model, and describe the problems facing the model and the impact it has created. The consociational model was described within the framework of the views of Arend Lijphart, the scholar who originally developed the model, and John McGarry and Brenden O'Leary, the next generation authors who improved it. In this context, first, the concept of consociational democracy model, its development and characteristics were explained. Then, the geopolitical and geostrategic importance of Iraq as well as the social and political developments between 1921 when the Iraqi state was established, and 2003 were described. In addition, the motives behind the US occupation of Iraq were also discussed as the US assumed the role of building democracy in Iraq. Next, the drafting process for the Iraqi constitution, adopted in 2005, and the role of the US as well as different perspectives of communities in Iraq were also emphasized. The Constitution of Iraq was examined in line with the advice Lijphart gave to constitution drafters for building a successful consociational democracy. In the last section of the thesis, the failure of consociational democracy in Iraq, the problems facing it and the effects of these problems were studied. The study found that the permanent Constitution of Iraq adopted the principles Lijphart proposed for the implementation and success of the consociational democracy model. However, this model encountered many problems in Iraq. This led to the lack of implementation of major principles of the consociational democracy model although the Constitution incorporates many of them. Therefore, the consociational democracy mechanisms were not effective in building a democracy and mitigating fragmentation among communities in the country because of failure to implement some of these mechanisms although they are embodied in the Constitution.