Iraq: Continuation of Violence and Democracy Dream - A Multilevel Analysis

Iraq is country that exemplifies ethnic-linguistic and religious violence in the first decade of the 21st century. Continuation and intensification of violence has foiled the efforts of the Iraqi opposition, the US, and other foreign powers for promotion of democracy in this country. This paper tries to analyze this issue using a multilevel approach as well as a causative – historical explanatory research method which mostly relies on political sociology.The most important reasons or hypotheses offered to explain spread of violence and failure of democratization in post-Saddam Iraq include: 1. Existing crises of identity, integration and deep-rooted legitimacy resulting from imposed nation building and the oligarchic structure that has dominated Iraq from 1920s onward; 2. Undemocratic and non-civil basis of political parties as well as political and social groupings, and domination of violent sectarian, ethnic-linguistic, and religious beliefs and cultures; 3. Inability of the country’s weak government to exercise good governance which is characterized by establishment of security, employment, and provision of various services; and 4. Continued presence and violent treatment of the Iraqi people by military forces of the United States and its allies and disclosure of their real and secret goals in this country.