Report No.280: Iraq’s Precarious Political System: Consociationalism and Permanent Crisis

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This report examines Iraq’s post-Saddam Hussein political order, a consociational arrangement known as muhasasah, or the apportionment of power resources among the country’s ethno-sectarian groups. Designed to accommodate societal diversity, muhasasah has become a fundamental flaw in Iraq’s political system. Instead of fostering national consensus, it has hardened ethno-sectarian identity politics, and has become synonymous with dysfunction, corruption, mismanagement, and inefficiency. Bold reforms are needed and radical recalibration beyond identity-based quotas toward functional governance, meritocracy, accountability, and citizenship is imperative.