WHY DEMOCRACIES CAN'T CREATE DEMOCRACIES

The riddle of democracy: What will it look like in Iraq - and what if we don't like it? (Trudy Rubin, 7/04/03, Philadelphia Inquirer)

"Is this democracy?" has become the query that precedes all complaints about occupation. A typical example came from Rafiq Hamdani, former director of the international department at the Ministry of Information. He was demonstrating outside the ministry because he had been fired by U.S. officials for being a Saddam henchman who helped thwart the foreign press.

"Is this democracy?" he railed to me (someone to whom he had refused a visa). The right to demonstrate didn't strike him as particularly valuable; he thought democracy meant he got to keep his job.

In fact, most Iraqis seem to view the notion of democracy in terms of "give me - or my tribe, or my sect - mine." Pluralism and tolerance are still alien concepts. To many, "give me mine" means "don't give the others theirs." [...]

Iraqis would probably be better off with the time to acquire some experience with tolerance. But long before then, many will get impatient to shake off occupation.

Having dumped a dictator, U.S. officials now have no choice but to solve this conundrum: how do you build democratic traditions swiftly in a place that has nearly none?

Iraq needs a liberalizing strongman--an Attaturk, a Franco, a Pinochet--but, for our own ideological reasons we're not going to impose one, so we should get out now and hope one takes over after whatever comes next falls apart. Posted by Orrin Judd at July 4, 2003 12:23 PM