Abstract
Since 2003, despite an abundance of resources and a more pluralistic political settlement, Iraq’s economic reform process has failed to take off.
Citation
Hamilton, Alexander (2020) The political economy of economic policy in Iraq. LSE Middle East Centre paper series (32). LSE Middle East Centre, London, UK.
Toby Dodge
Since 2003, despite an abundance of resources and a more pluralistic political settlement, Iraq’s economic reform process has failed to take off.
LSE Middle East Centre
Since 2003, despite an abundance of resources and a more pluralistic political settlement, Iraq’s economic reform process has failed to take off.
A New Federal Government in Iraq
A decentralized federal system will best fit the political realities on the ground in Iraq and best meet the needs of the Iraqi people. (See text box, "The Constitutional Model for a Post-Saddam Iraq.") Iraq, which the British carved out of the Ottoman Empire to advance their own interests, is not a cohesive nation in the Western sense.
THE IRAQI OPPOSITION: BROAD BUT DIVIDED
Although its military potential is limited and splintered along political, ethnic, and ideological lines (see Table 1), the current Iraqi opposition can still play an important role in building the post-war federal government. In recent months the opposition has coalesced and become more unified politically.
BUILDING A STABLE POST-WAR IRAQ
The United States has no intention of determining the precise form of Iraq's new government. That choice belongs to the Iraqi people. Yet, we will ensure that one brutal dictator is not replaced by another. All Iraqis must have a voice in the new government, and all citizens must have their rights protected. 4
