• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
Democracy
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Thomas Carothers",
    "Marina Ottaway"
  ],
  "type": "other",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "DCG",
  "programs": [
    "Democracy, Conflict, and Governance"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Middle East",
    "Iraq"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Democracy"
  ]
}
REQUIRED IMAGE

REQUIRED IMAGE

Other

The Right Road to Sovereignty in Iraq/Avoiding the Dangers of Early Elections

Link Copied
By Thomas Carothers and Marina Ottaway
Published on Oct 8, 2003
Program mobile hero image

Program

Democracy, Conflict, and Governance

The Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program is a leading source of independent policy research, writing, and outreach on global democracy, conflict, and governance. It analyzes and seeks to improve international efforts to reduce democratic backsliding, mitigate conflict and violence, overcome political polarization, promote gender equality, and advance pro-democratic uses of new technologies.

Learn More

Source: Carnegie

The Bush administration is pushing for elections in Iraq sometime next year. This extremely accelerated timetable is dangerous. Early elections in postconflict situations can produce unstable results and favor radical groups over still-emergent moderate forces.

Because the administration has made elections a requisite for Iraqi sovereignty and faces growing pressure to transfer sovereignty, delaying elections is not an option. The solution is to limit the current constitution writing to an interim document that provides the framework for the election of a constituent assembly and an interim government of national unity. This would produce an elected Iraqi government to which sovereignty can be transferred and create a framework for the longer-term process of political consensus building necessary to create permanent democratic institutions.

Click on link above for full text of this Policy Brief.

A limited number of print copies are available.
Request a copy

About the Authors
Marina Ottaway
is senior associate and Thomas Carothers is director of the Democracy and Rule of Law Project at the Carnegie Endowment.

Resources

Arab Reform Bulletin. New e-monthly addressing political reform in the Middle East. Go to www.ceip.org/signup to subscribe.
Is Gradualism Possible? Choosing a Strategy for Promoting Democracy in the Middle East
, Thomas Carothers
Political Reconstruction in Iraq: A Reality Check, Marina Ottaway and Judith S. Yaphe
Promoting Democracy in the Middle East: The Problem of U.S. Credibility, Marina Ottaway
Democracy Challenged: The Rise of Semi-Authoritarianism, Marina Ottaway
Aiding Democracy Abroad: The Learning Curve, Thomas Carothers

Authors

Thomas Carothers
Harvey V. Fineberg Chair for Democracy Studies; Director, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program
Thomas Carothers
Marina Ottaway
Former Senior Associate, Middle East Program
Marina Ottaway
Political ReformDemocracyMiddle EastIraq

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.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    In Uzbekistan, the President’s Daughter Is Now His Second-in-Command

    Having failed to build a team that he can fully trust or establish strong state institutions, Mirziyoyev has become reliant on his family.

      Galiya Ibragimova

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Europolis, Where Europe Ends

    A prophetic Romanian novel about a town at the mouth of the Danube carries a warning: Europe decays when it stops looking outward. In a world of increasing insularity, the EU should heed its warning.

      Thomas de Waal

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Japan’s “Militarist Turn” and What It Means for Russia

    For a real example of political forces engaged in the militarization of society, the Russian leadership might consider looking closer to home.

      James D.J. Brown

  • Aerial shot of protesters marching down a street
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Federal Accountability and the Power of the States in a Changing America

    What happens next can lessen the damage or compound it.

      Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuéllar

  • Stack of Iranian newspapers featuring Trump's face and a burning American flag
    Commentary
    Emissary
    The United States Should Apply the Arab Spring’s Lessons to Its Iran Response

    The uprisings showed that foreign military intervention rarely produced democratic breakthroughs.

      • Sarah Yerkes

      Amr Hamzawy, Sarah Yerkes

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600Fax: 202 483 1840
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.