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ID: 078492

State Building and Transitional Politics in Iraq: the perils of a top-down transition / Papagianni, Katia

Papagianni, Katia	Journal Article
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Publication

2007.

Summary/Abstract

This article examines Iraq's transitional politics from June 2003 to the Constitutional Referendum of October 2005. It argues that the top-down political transition led by the United States and a narrow group of Iraqi elites was inappropriate for the task of reforming the Iraqi state and building democratic institutions. The article argues that, in countries going through regime change while also radically reforming the state, inclusive transitional institutions and consultative processes contribute to agreements being reached about the future of the state. Such transitions allow actors to guarantee the continued participation of opponents in the political process and to gradually develop agreements on constitutional questions. This did not occur in Iraq. An inclusive political process and a national debate on the country's future did not occur. Rather, a narrow group of political elites led the transitional process in the absence of wide consultations. The article argues that the management of Iraq's transition had an independent impact on the outcome of the transition, namely the failure to reach agreement on the sharing of political and economic power within one state by October 2005

Key Words

State Building ; Consulation ; Transnational Institutions ; Constitution Making

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ID: 129635

Ways of constitution-making in Southeast Asia: actors, interest, dynamics / Croissant, Aurel

Croissant, Aurel	Journal Article
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Publication

2014.

Summary/Abstract

This article analyses eleven cases of constitution-making in eight Southeast Asian countries since 1986. It investigates design choices and actors' interests, the link between the form of the political regime and the extent to which process designs matter for the legitimacy of the constitutional orders in the region. In doing so, the article demonstrate that the link between the form of the political regime and the extent to which constitution making is inclusive or participatory is less clear cut. While we would expect better opportunities for public participation and border inclusion of extra parliamentary actors in constitution-making in democratic environment, the empirical evidence is mixed. If and how this matters for public support for a constitution and the social acceptance for the constitutional order is not clear. In fact, the Southeast Asian experience seems to indicate that procedural legitimacy is less relevant for the acceptance of a constitution than the legitimacy that derives from the day to day plebiscite by citizens and elites.

Key Words

Authoritarianism ; Law ; Southeast Asia ; Legitimacy ; Constitution Making ; Political regime ;
Comparative Constitutional Politics ; Parliamentary Actors ; Iran - Democracy - 1941-1953

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