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October 5, 2005

The promise of Iraq's constitution and the need for a little perspective

Topics: Iraq

I can't help but wonder - if there was 24/7 cable news and a left wing press back in the days of the American revolution, especially one as prejudicially in favor of the anti-American far-left of today, would we have heard the American revolution referred to as an unwinnable quagmire, having little to no chance of succeeding. Thinking about our own constitution, one need only to read "The Federalist Papers" (and what led up to them being written) to be reminded of the problems Americans faced in the process of arriving at our own constitution - and that was without having to deal with Islamofascism and the whacky tenets of Islam.

In an opinion piece on the Iraqi constitution in Lebanon's "The Daily Star," Feisal Amin al-Istrabadi, Iraq's ambassador and deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, writes that much of the current talk about the draft's various provisions misses the point. (...) Regardless of whether the referendum succeeds or fails, and regardless of the details of the constitutional text, what is most important is the establishment of constitutional processes and institutions in Iraq, before and after the referendum.

(...) ...giving life to constitutionally defined political institutions is far more important to the course of Iraq's immediate future than the specific provisions that the constitution contains.

(...) That has been the missing ingredient, not only in Iraq, but also in other countries ruled by despots.

(...) Constitutions frequently enshrine lofty principals, and nobly assure protection of fundamental rights. The question is whether those guarantees are given meaning on the ground. If the immediate past is a guide, one has reason for optimism in Iraq.Apparently, the "United States Institute of Peace" agrees with him (the link is well worth your time). On their web site, two points jump to our attention:

1. How the constitution is made, as well as what it says, matters. Process has become equally as important as the content of the final document for the legitimacy of a new constitution. Participatory constitution making is today a fact of constitutional life as well as a good in itself.

2. Despite challenging difficulties of definition and implementation, a democratic constitution-making process is, in the words of African observer Julius Ivonhbere, "critical to the strength, acceptability, and legitimacy of the final product."

So perhaps, just perhaps, we might consider having a little more faith in democracy, something we ourselves have to work hard to maintain, with far less distractions and conflict than the Iraqis are having to work through, just to have one to begin with.

Posted by Richard at October 5, 2005 7:35 AM

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• The promise of Iraq's constitution and the need for a little perspective - Oct 05, 2005