The goal of this thesis is to determine the likelihood of Iraq developing into a democracy in the near future. Given the heightened level of U.S. involvement in Iraq since March 2003, the question of whether or not democracy in the country is possible has risen in significance.
This study differs from more traditional democratization studies because it focuses on the international level of analysis rather than the state level. Due to U.S. involvement in the democratization process, the argument is presented that U.S. actions are more important in the initial stages than state level issues such as constitutional engineering.
The results of this study find that democracy in Iraq will initially depend on actions taken by the United States, and that these actions will have a greater effect on Iraq’s development than actions taken at the state level.