We've all seen countless posts here saying how the US built successful democracies in Japan and Germany after WWII. Such posts are made to imply that the same thing will happen in Iraq.
But consider for a moment the history of these countries.
Germany was a secular democratic republic (aka Weimar republic) in the years 1918-1933. Most hallmarks of today's german constitution/society - welfare state, federal system, proportional multiparty democracy, industry-wide collective bargaining/union involvement in companies, modernism and liberal values - were first put into place during this period. While it was unsuccessful, Weimar failed primarily because of the world economic collapse. Had the post WWI period been acompanied by the same economic boom as the post WWII period, WWII would have never occured.
Japan also had a similar period:
It was not as significant as Weimar, but it must still be considered.
Now lets compare to Iraq:
Iraq did have one such period, the first republic of 1958-1963 whose constitution had liberal values, but it was too long ago. If we suppose you had to be 19 to understand political events and the significance of freedom, it means only Iraqis who are over 65 can remember this period. Looking at this population pyramid we can see that these Iraqis account for less than 2% of the population. The vast majority have never known freedom or democracy.
So what's the point of this post?
I want to point out that the US did not build/create democracies in post WWII Japan and Germany, but rather helped moderates in those countries restore what was destroyed not long ago.Whether Iraq will turn out to be a democracy, a theocracy or something in between, remains to be seen. But Iraq is neither post WWII Germany, nor Japan and comparisons between the two are of little use.
But consider for a moment the history of these countries.
Germany was a secular democratic republic (aka Weimar republic) in the years 1918-1933. Most hallmarks of today's german constitution/society - welfare state, federal system, proportional multiparty democracy, industry-wide collective bargaining/union involvement in companies, modernism and liberal values - were first put into place during this period. While it was unsuccessful, Weimar failed primarily because of the world economic collapse. Had the post WWI period been acompanied by the same economic boom as the post WWII period, WWII would have never occured.
Japan also had a similar period:
http://www.bartleby.com/67/2494.html
It was not as significant as Weimar, but it must still be considered.
Now lets compare to Iraq:
Iraq did have one such period, the first republic of 1958-1963 whose constitution had liberal values, but it was too long ago. If we suppose you had to be 19 to understand political events and the significance of freedom, it means only Iraqis who are over 65 can remember this period. Looking at this population pyramid we can see that these Iraqis account for less than 2% of the population. The vast majority have never known freedom or democracy.
So what's the point of this post?
I want to point out that the US did not build/create democracies in post WWII Japan and Germany, but rather helped moderates in those countries restore what was destroyed not long ago.Whether Iraq will turn out to be a democracy, a theocracy or something in between, remains to be seen. But Iraq is neither post WWII Germany, nor Japan and comparisons between the two are of little use.
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