Iraq Since the Gulf War: Prospects for Democracy.

• Author: Bloom, Mia M.

Iraq Since the Gulf War: Prospects for Democracy is an interesting collection of essays written by expatriate and dissident Iraqis, both Arab and Kurdish, now living in Europe and the United States. A variety of topics are covered, from the role of ideology to women's rights as well as differing concepts of federalism as a political alternative. The book also includes a useful chronology of events from the 1990 invasion of Kuwait through May 1994, when the book was published. Taken as a whole, the book presents a unique picture of Iraq, one that contradicts the common notion that citizens get the government they deserve. According to the contributing authors, the state of Iraq and the Iraqi people are not to blame for the havoc wreaked on the international community in the Persian Gulf War - the blame lies with Saddam Hussein and the ruling Ba'ath Party. Additionally, the book contains a translation of Charter 91, the statement of political principles issued in 1991 by dissident Iraqi intellectuals, which would form the basis of a democratic Iraq.

The best article in the collection is written by Rend Rahim Francke, who examines and analyzes the Iraqi political opposition. Francke abstains from the usual polemical discourse and presents a balanced and realistic perspective on the heterogenous opposition. Furthermore, Francke is hopeful about, but does not exaggerate, the democratic potential for Iraq once the Iraqi people throw off the "yoke" of Saddam Hussein. As she explains: "Disenchantment with the political parties, rigid ideologies and authoritarian systems that have held sway over Iraq in the past thirty years has prompted a search for fresh ideas and new models."

Nevertheless, Francke cautions her readers by further explaining that the lack of civil society, the lack of democratic institutions and party structures and the persistence of factionalism make a transition to democracy or "freedom" (i.e., some type of federalism as proposed in Charter 91) a very difficult task. "The opposition groups are not united on what constitute possible or desirable methods for achieving change." She adds, "the parties and currents found within the Iraqi opposition are implicitly parties of exclusion: the Kurdish parties are not designed to include Arabs; the Arab Nationalist groups are unlikely to win Kurdish, Assyrian, or Turcomen membership; the Shi'i Islamist groups are by definition closed to people of other religions as well as Sunni Muslims."

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