Filling Out Iraq's Federation: A Bottom-Up Approach to Challenging the Muhasasa.

The consensus among many western scholars and the Iraqi protest movement is that almost all of the country's most serious problems are attributable to a political system (the so-called muhasasa ta'ifia) that allocates positions of political power on the basis of ethnicity and sect. The system was created by elites, and is sustained and manipulated by these same elites for personal gain; but while critiques of the system are ubiquitous, feasible proposals for changing it are thin on the ground. The assumption that the muhasasa is a top-down imposition logically leads protestors to focus attention on effecting change in Baghdad, but direct challenges to the system are unlikely to succeed. The argument here is that a bottom-up approach that starts with empowering governorates is the more viable strategy. Specifically, the focus should be on exploiting the constitutional provision that allows governorates to transition to regions. While a 'filled out' federation may not end the muhasasa, it will erode the system's foundation by distributing power and resources away from Baghdad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]