This article examines the idea that historical memory can assist democratic transitions, delving into how this idea applies to the case of Iraq. “Historical memory” is defined as the collective understanding that a specific group of people shares about past events which this group perceives as having shaped its current economic, cultural, social, and political status and identity. How this memory shapes Iraq’s democratization is important not only in understanding Iraq, but in understanding the conditions under which democracy prospers.
About the Author
Eric Davis is professor of political science and former director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Rutgers University. His books include Challenging Colonialism: Bank Misr and Egyptian Industrialization, 1920–1941 (1983), Statecraft in the Middle East: Oil, Historical Memory, and Popular Culture (1991), and Memories of State: Politics, History, and Collective Identity in Modern Iraq (2005).
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Iraqis of all ethnic and sectarian stripes are fed up with the ineptitude and corruption of their political leaders, parties, and government institutions.
If Iraq is successfully to democratize and an inclusive democratic culture is to emerge, the Iraqi state must be reconstituted as a federal and strongly liberal system and thoroughly demilitarized.
