Crisis-making Policy!

By Zeravan Barwary:

In the new world system, the state is the major actor which is measurable and accountable in both its domestic and external policy to its citizens within its borders, and to the international community outside them. According to international standards, there are some failed states, and others are called successful states. Failed states are identified by the quality of services which the governments provide to their citizens. If the system cannot satisfy public need and face the complex challenges of the economy and politics, then the whole political system will be questionable.

In modern democracy, competition usually occurs between political parties in terms of political and economic projects. The winning party is the one which best serves the people. In the opposite system, the totalitarian regime, the military and hard power become the main factor for maintaining political power. This creates an unhealthy environment for the political and economic process inside these countries. The outcome of such a policy is the impossibility of political development and freedom of expression, unless the political system becomes a democracy, and respects the principle of human rights.

In Iraq, the political process is under real threat, because a policy of crisis making is being implemented, each political party is treating the others as real enemies, and the whole process is about how to keep political power. A dirty political game is being conducted in this country with no political strategy to face the various challenges. There is no political mission to govern the country. This makes Iraq a vulnerable state in the Middle East; it becomes a state in which other regional actors pursue their own interests, and the national interest and national security are not paramount, because several times the domestic political actors have used external actors to assist with their partisan maneuvers.

Iraq started its open political system in 2003, and the multi-party system has come after a long era of dictatorship. This means that both people and political elites are new to the experience, and the democratic transition may not be that easy a process. The ruling parties in Iraq after the 2005 election used history to justify revenge against specific groups, creating a civil war for more than three years. This destroyed political trust between people and the new political system in Iraq; this meant that the government in Iraq did not represent the Iraqi people in a just way. The differentiation of political, religious and ethnic groups affected political participation. The government has become the government of Shias, and other groups have felt that they are not the citizens of Iraq anymore, because their rights have been violated by the political power. The current situation in Iraq shows that we still live under a totalitarian regime under a different name. It shows that the future of this country is doubtful in terms of democracy and economic development, because the type of policy conducted by Nuri Al- Maliki is a real expression of the policy of crisis-making, and the main agendas of the current political system are how to maintain control and serve the regional actors.

In conclusion, if the political process remains as it is, the transition of democracy will not comes true. People will remain the main victims of the failed policies of the Iraqi political elites.

Zeravan Barwary has a Masters degree in Political Science. He has worked with international organizations such as the UN, EU and NDI in many countries such as Turkey, Morocco, Jordan, Malaysia and Indonesia.