Illiberal Democracy in Iraq

Essay # 61661

Literature
Political Science

This paper uses the book "The Future of Freedom" by Fareed Zakaria, to examine the future of Iraq's democratization.

1,129 words () | 0 sources | 2005 United States

Paper Summary:

It is important to examine a democracy and determine whether it is transparent and liberal, or whether it is simply an exoskeleton with no filler, and no liberty or equality. This paper focuses on the invasion in Iraq, and uses the arguments of Fareed Zakaria in his book "The Future of Freedom", to determine whether or not the invasion was a worthwhile endeavor.

From the Paper:

"In the beginning of his book, Zakaria draws the distinction between liberty and democracy. Unfolding into one of the main themes of the book, this distinction shows that an electoral democracy can lead to a completely illiberal society. Zakaria points out several examples where electoral democracies have become dictatorships, such as Adolph Hitler's election in Germany and the dictatorial rulers elected in places such as Indonesia. He points out that developing countries often develop "sham democracies", which are dictatorships clothed in democratic language, where there is no governmental legitimacy or protection of rights and liberties. The situation in Iraq, however, and the push for the transition to a democracy is a very different one from those cited by Zakaria which were unsuccessful."