Commentary
Nathan J. Brown
Report
Constitution Drafting Update
Published on Aug 8, 2005
Having passed up the opportunity of requesting a six-month extension, Iraq’s National Assembly is required to pass a draft constitution within a week or face dissolution and new elections. Iraq’s current leaders, as well as their American backers, have decided to make constitution writing the centerpiece of their efforts at political reconstruction, making the stakes particularly high. In this analysis I will show:
- How much of the international analysis and lobbying distracts from the central issues and provided overly legalistic understandings of how the constitution would operate;
- Why the central purpose of the constitutional process—striking a bargain among Iraq’s various groups—is so difficult; and
- Why the drafters as well as external analysts should devote far more attention to practical issues of enforcement rather than general ideological language.
Click on the link to above for the full text of this Carnegie report.
About the Author
Nathan J. Brown
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Middle East Program
Nathan J. Brown, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, is a distinguished scholar and author of nine books on Arab politics and governance, as well as editor of five books.
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Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
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