As part of its special program for the holy month of Ramadan, Al-Rafidain Center for Dialogue RCD held a discussion session in which His Eminence, Mr. “Ammar Al-Hakim”, head of the Reform and Reconstruction Alliance was hosted. The session was held at Babylon Hotel in Baghdad in May 11, 2018 under the title "Reform in Iraq: Political Reality and Internal and External Challenges".

Mr. Al-Hakim talked about all the hot political files in Iraq, and presented his views on them. With regard to the reform file, Mr. Al-Hakim stated that the reform process must be accompanied by a real will and specialization to be truly productive. With regard to the political position of the Wisdom Movement, he made it clear that the position of the Movement towards the government depends on the extent of participation in it. By that, he meant participating in the political decision and not in the governmental position. Moreover, after six months of government work, the issue of the parliamentary blocs supporting it must be resolved, so that those blocs are accountable to the citizens.

Concerning the tension between the United States and Iran, Mr. Al-Hakim called on the Iraqi government, based on its strategic interests between the two countries, to play the role of mediator. From his point of view, Iraq  is the country most likely to be affected by any conflict that erupts between those two countries. Therefore, it is necessary to move and mediate to achieve Iraqi interests, especially since Iraq has experience in persuading the two sides to dialogue, as happened through the initiative launched by Mr. Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim for dialogue between the two countries, The United States and Iran. Finally, during the session, some development topics were discussed, such as the development of the private sector, the development of banks, the provision of services, and others.

The session was attended by a number of religious leaders, academics and politicians from the Al-Rafidain Center for Dialogue. The seminar was moderated by Dr. Farhad Ala Al-Din, a member of the Board of Directors of the Al-Rafidain Center for Dialogue RCD.   

Conclusions:

1.     The formation of the political system in Iraq after 2003 was accompanied by many problems, including the problem of obsession with fear of the past, and the problem of future ambitions, as well as the presence of external interference. This produced a political system that needs to be reviewed and reformed after sixteen years.

2.     The current political system has structural contradictions. The constitution supports decentralization, pluralism and diversity, and contradicts the laws and legislation in force, many of which are based on strong centralization, which is one of the consequences of what was prevalent in Iraq before 2003.

3.     The reform process in Iraq faces many challenges, the first of which is the challenge of the prevailing culture in the country, which is difficult to change easily, such as the prevailing bureaucratic pattern. The second challenge is to find the true will for reform, as reform can harm the interests of many, and it is not easy to be accepted. As for the third challenge, it is the absence of a clear vision or randomness, as the reform process must be carried out according to a scientific vision and perspective.

4.     The government must have a parliamentary incubator to rely on, as the absence of a parliamentary base on which the government can rely makes it threatened. In the past months, there has been a lack of clarity about the parliamentary base for the Iraqi government. Is the incubator blocs of Al-Fateh, Saeroon and the Democratic Party? Or the Reform and Construction Alliances and other Kurdish forces? Determining the parliamentary incubator of the government determines the attitudes of some political forces towards the government.

5.     There is a state of frustration and a negative view of the citizens on the general performance of the government. In fact, the frustration extended to the elites who are hoped to spread a state of optimism among the citizens. In order to rectify this situation, citizens must feel even a small measure of the government's achievements in order to create some optimism.

6.     It was thought that the selection of independent ministers would lead to an improvement in government performance, but the reality indicates the opposite, as the problems of corruption and the sale of government positions and others have increased and not decreased during the last period.

7.     What increases the feeling of frustration among citizens is the state of negativity prevalent in society. The achievements that appear in reconstruction projects and others are not referred to, while cynicism about government performance spreads widely through social media, so this societal phenomenon must be addressed.

8.     Iraq must be balanced in its foreign policy. Imbalance or bias towards one party over the other leads to great harm to Iraq. Although holding the stick from the middle is very difficult at the present time, Iraq must seek to bring the views of the United States and Iran closer.

9.     With the removal of concrete barriers and the opening of vital and strategic areas, modern technology and intelligence must be harnessed to eradicate terrorism from reaching these points and hitting the depths of the state, because this leaves great psychological effects, especially after the capital, Baghdad, witnessed a calm period of bombings.

10. There are major problems in the social reality in Iraq, such as the spread of drugs, the high rates of divorce and suicide, and other aspects extraneous to Iraqi society, which need a real treatment.

11. The position of the Wisdom Movement towards the current government depends on the orientations and policies of the government. Taking the side of the opposition or not depends on participation in the political decision of the government. The real partnership is the partnership of the decision and not the partnership of the position. Bearing the consequences of participation and the reality of the situation indicates the opposite is not in the logic of politics.

Recommendations:

1.     The required reform in Iraq must include all political, social and economic aspects. To achieve this, the reform process must be characterized by seriousness, radical, comprehensiveness, progression and continuity, as well as specialization.

2.     The reform process in Iraq needs the public mobilization aspect. So, the forces that find themselves benefiting from reform must join hands and work together to spread the spirit of reform in society. Quick reform gains should be made to form a greater incentive in society to move forward in this important process.

3.     The need for the practical aspect of reform to begin with a major and comprehensive change in the state's administrative systems, an "administrative revolution". Otherwise, the desired repair process cannot be achieved.

4.     The strategic interests that Iraq has with the Islamic Republic and the United States must be invested in playing the mediating role, as Iraq is the most affected country in the region in the event of a clash between these two countries. It is worth noting that Iraq has a previous experience that came with the initiative of the late Mr. Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim, which led to a dialogue between them.

5.     The need to work on improving services, such as electricity, returning the displaced, developing the banking sector, and supporting the private sector. The development process needs a strong private sector that support and back up the state to advance development. Otherwise, the number of state employees is too large to achieve this goal.

6.     It is necessary to search for the Iraqi national interest when dealing with neighboring countries, as politics does not require submission to conspiracy theory and questioning the intentions of others, regardless of their orientation. Just as states have interests; Iraq has interests as well, and it can maintain them by building good bilateral relations with countries with which it finds it beneficial for Iraq to improve relations.

Reforming the judiciary is also one of the requirements for reform, as reforming society is carried out throu