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How should one characterize the U.S. war of 2003? Was it a "liberation" of millions of people from tyranny, or a much hated "occupation"? This essay reflects on how the Interim Governing Council (IGC)—formed following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and the removal of Saddam Hussein—conflated "democracy" with "representation" based on muhassasa (the practice of filling key government posts by "consensus" of the major-party bosses, using sectarian or ethnic criteria). This arrangement of the IGC proved ripe for corruption. Post-2003, identity politics continued to shape the outlook of Iraq's political elite, but today a new generation has begun making itself heard. This generation believes in Iraq as a nation and understands democracy as more than a source of spoils to be divided among groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the U.S.-led Iraq War and the prospects for politics and government in Iraq in the future. It is expected that the coming years will show whether the intervention of the U.S. in Iraq will bring the Arab world its first modern constitutional democracy or instigate a protracted civil war and disintegration in Iraq.

Focuses on the rebuilding of Iraq after the removal of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and the commitment of the United States in securing a transition to and consolidation of democracy in the country. Federalism in Iraq; Ethnicity and statehood; Demilitarization after the depose of President Hussein's regime.