Iraqi Kurds and Iraqi Arabs.

Who knows what is going to happen with the Kurds and Arabs in Iraq. I just hope they can keep it together so I can get on with my life. (I am going to work at the American University of Iraq-Suleimaniya (AUIS) in September.) Ok, that sounded selfish, I also hope they can get it together for the sake of the Iraqi population, and the students of AUIS.

Two recent reports out on the situation. One by Susan Khalil for Brookings , "Stability in Kurdistan: Reality of Mirage?" and one from International Crisis Group, "Iraq and the Kurds: Trouble Along the Trigger Line."

Article today in the NYTimes on Kurds snubbing the Iraq Government by moving forward with the radification of their own constitution which gives them rights on contended land and oil.

Iraq: Elections are not democracy

Iraq is unfortunately proving the argument Paul Collier makes in his new book Wars, Guns and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places, which I wrote about a few weeks ago.

From a NYTimes article today:

"Elections that were supposed to strengthen Iraq’s democracy, unite its ethnic and sectarian factions, and begin to improve sorely needed basic services — water, electricity, roads — have instead exposed the fault lines that still threaten the country’s stability."

Collier argues, in a nutshell: (see my post that includes a link to the reviews for more) When you half ass democracy building (just have elections) in countries that have NO other democratic/ civil society institutions it creates more violence, therefore giving democracy a bad name. (IE: Iraq.)

Also voter turnout in these environments is the equivalent of 'wearing football scarf' (great line) and doesn't mean much when all civilians are doing is casting a ballot and are not to the slightest extent engaged in their societies. (They don't know the candidates platform (also, the candidates don't have one) and vote based on ethnic or religious group or tribal and family connections.)

Civil society makes democracy real: rule of law, free press, free speech, freedom of assembly, transparent ballot counting, political parties based on ideas and ideology not ethnicity or religious orientation, security.

Elections are also a particularly horrible idea during sectarian bouts and times of ethnic tension because they simply cement these identities instead of working to erode them and create a national and political based identities. IE: Iraq (Sectarian, Sunni Shii identities created after the invasion because of the security vacuum were artificial and could have been done away with, but instead US calls for elections right in the middle of the height of their rise - and what do you get? Sunni boycott of the elections, Shii win power and Shii militias start to cleanse neighborhoods of Sunnis, further entrenching sectarianism.

In Iraq you have the worst all aforementioned worlds.

Turkey - Good work on Kurds what about the Armenians

Turkey seems to be kind of sort of trying to make amends with Kurds....coming to terms with the atrocities it committed aginst them in the 80s and 90s.

But not so much with the Armeninas; the Turkish State still denies the genocide happened, saying 'bloody things occurr during war' but it will be more difficult after Talat Pasha's (orchestrator of genocide) wife passed on primary documents about the massive decrease (disappearence) of Armenian population during WWI just before she died.
(Article in NYTimes)

Article - An End to Baghdad's 'Dark Era'

Nightclubs are reopening in Baghdad.

Interesting in this article is also the brief history it gives of the nightclubs - opened for most of Saddam's reign then closed in the 90s as he tried to gain favor of the religious leaders.

I am particularly excited about this bc I am going to work in Suleimaniya (up the NE, Kurdish region) next year at the two year old American University of Iraq at Suleimaniya (AUIS). I took a trip over there last week to get the lay of the land and liked what I saw. More on this to come.

Kurds of Iraq

I have read three interesting articles recently on the Kurdish issue in Iraq - how big of an issue is it? Meaning will there be an open conflict between the Kurds and Arabs in Iraq? Not sure, journalists, experts, scholars seem to have different ideas on it.

1. http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2009/02/on-going-kurdish-arab-dispute.html
2. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/opinion/26ohanlon.html?scp=2&sq=year%20in%20iraq&st=cse
3. http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090226/OPINION/105715252/1080