Time for a “Diplomatic Surge”: Democracy in Iraq is Going to Need Intense Pressure on its Leaders

Publication Date: January 2008

Publisher: Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace

Author(s): Larry Diamond

Research Area: Politics

Keywords: Middle East; Democracy; Iraq

Type: Report

Coverage: Iraq

Abstract:

We are long past the date when the Iraqi constitution was to have been amended to resolve such key issues as control and distribution of the oil revenue, the federal structure of the country, and the structure of executive power at the center. Iraq cannot progress toward stability until all the major parties agree on the core constitutional question: how will wealth and power be shared? The only way Iraq’s parties will make the necessary political compromises is with a “diplomatic surge” of intense pressure and incentives.