Iraqis have lived under the Baath party for over 30 years—and for most of that time, under Saddam’s version of the Baath. Even when Iraqis want to forget this past, old patterns, although not etched in stone, have dug deep grooves into their psyche that will continue to affect their society for years to come. So the question of how to create a civil society based on principals of democracy and the rule of law in a post-Saddam Iraq should receive a great deal of public debate and discussion.

Unfortunately the US is simply imposing its view of what such a society should look like. But when put into practice, this view is running into the brick wall of traditional and accepted Iraqi norms.

The following article was written after spending five and a half months in Iraq (February-July 2004), and interacting with a variety of Iraqi individuals, ministry staff and NGO representatives. It is one view, among many, of the current status of civil society in Iraq and it is offered in the hopes that it may create more dialogue on this subject.

Only a Strong Man

“Allawi,” said a Shia cleric in Baghdad, speaking of the interim Prime Minister, “he’s a little Saddam. He’ll be good for Iraq.” While there are many Iraqis calling for an open, democratic government, if you scratch the surface, even a little, you are likely to get to a deeply held belief that Iraq can only be ruled by a strong man. There are a number of sources for this belief. One pragmatic reason for this idea is the fact that the relatively stable (if oppressive) government of Saddam and the Baath has given way to the crime and chaos of Occupation. But the deeper roots of this may go back to the painful collective memory of how Iraq was created, its borders drawn by another occupier, the British. This difficult birth of a nation included an imposed monarchy, revolution and one coup after another until Saddam came along and exchanged the bloodbath of nation-building for the equally bloody, but remarkably resilient rule of a street thug. And Saddam, the archetypal strongman, was to be venerated and praised for more than 20 years, his picture on every wall, street corner, and Iraqi Dinar.

In the face of this history, is a healthy civil society likely to arise from these ashes? Have Iraqis lived so long under a tyrannical regime that they literally cannot imagine any other type of government? It’s worthwhile to look at the Iraqi NGOs that have arisen since the official end of the war to get an idea of how the New Iraq is forming.

The NGOs

They have little understanding or experience in how to run an organization independently from the government that is accountable to both their membership and funders. They have at times become a desperate means through which out-of-work, professionally-trained Iraqis attempt to generate self-employment opportunities.

Academics vs. Activism

Iraqi NGOs tend to have a more academic focus rather than an activist one, and their membership is weighted towards older, male academics. This is not surprising since academics, for the most part, are non-threatening. If there is a problem, study it—but one must be very careful never to go out and actually take action to solve the problem. Tackling a problem academically can take years and those in power are not likely to be troubled in the least by such activities. Under Saddam, the problems arose when someone started proposing solutions.

Networking & Trust

Iraqi NGOs have very limited knowledge of how (or willingness) to network and coordinate activities with one another. This primarily comes down to an issue of trust. Information under Saddam could be a dangerous thing. One researcher in Iraq recently told me that it is safer not to share information. “Perhaps they will steal your information and pretend that it is theirs,” he said. “Or they will use that information against you in some way.” This problem with trust extends all the way from professional to family interactions. In the Iraq of Saddam, where even the innocent words of your children could get you into trouble with the government, you had to be careful who you let into your confidence.

International Support

Iraqi NGOs are cut off from the outside world and from international organizations. Due to language and cultural differences, or just a basic lack of information, most Iraqi NGOs are out of touch with the work of their counterparts outside the country. And for the most part, International NGOs are not doing nearly enough to support and encourage Iraqi NGOs. When I was in Iraq, I spent a great deal of time trying to make connections between Iraqi NGOs and potential partners I knew of in the West, but I got very little interest or response from many of these organizations.

Experience

Iraqi NGOs are struggling to run organizations without any real training or experience in budgeting, fundraising, or organizational management. Running an independent organization that is responsible for its own finances and activities, and accountable to its members, was virtually impossible in Saddam-era Iraq. Any quasi-civil society organization that did exist (Student Unions, Women’s Association) was heavily reliant on and controlled by the government.

Many of the new Iraqi NGOs expect a similar close relationship with the new Iraqi government. I attended two NGO meetings hosted by the Ministry of Environment, where there were complaints that the Ministry wasn’t providing funding for NGO projects. And I heard the heads of NGOs gripe about that fact that the new Iraqi government has not provided them with free office space. Such things would rarely be heard of from NGOs in the West, who know that government support is rare and often a double-edged sword that is to be avoided.

Feeding at a Non-Existent Public Trough

Only a subset of the groups are truly dedicated to working on issues central to their mission statements; some saw it as a potential niche through which they would be able to find a way to financially support themselves, their family, or friends. Unemployment is rampant in Iraq. Many professional, highly educated people are out of work and desperate for something, anything, that will help them survive.

When the Americans first came into Iraq, there was a great deal of rhetoric about building a strong civil society. Many groups started up to feed at this new, potentially lucrative, public trough. Unfortunately, the US Agency for International Development and related partner programs weren’t really interested in funding Iraqi organizations. Iraqi organizations didn’t know them. They couldn’t really speak to them, and for goodness’ sake, they couldn’t even put together a descent proposal in English!

There never really was any opportunity to separate the wheat from the chaff in terms of functional and non-functional Iraqi NGOs—neither one were likely to get any funding from any of the US aid groups.

A Purely Iraqi Civil Society

These are all disturbing trends when viewed through Western eyes, but they should be expected given the history of Iraq and its present circumstances. A strong and healthy civil society—just like the establishment of democracy itself—is not something that happens overnight. And an Iraqi civil society as the US government may be envisioning it may take years to form. It is also entirely likely that the US was never really interested in what form a new Iraqi society would take as long as its government and civic structure gave some lip service to democracy and the rule of law—anything that would be serviceable for US election campaigning. In the end, Iraqis will most likely reject many aspects of the kind of civil society that the US government at least verbally espouses.

In the short run, the old patterns ingrained by years under Saddam will continue to dominate, but even these will fade with time. And as negative as some of these trends appear to be, the proliferation of Iraqi NGOs is creating both a chaotic and transformative experience for Iraqis. Eventually the country will ford its own path to the creation of a vibrant, purely Iraqi civil society.