Democratization and Radicalization
in
Iraqi Campuses
By
Ali Latif
December 2006
View
Full Report (English)
Executive
Summary
From
their heyday in the 1970s and 80s, Iraq's Universities have
undergone a steady decline. Decades of existence under a
repressive regime together with economic disasters of wars
and sanctions have left much of the intellectual and physical
infrastructure in pieces. Following the Iraq war in 2003,
universities mirrored the rest of the country in terms of
the tremendous upheaval they experienced, a period that
fostered hope as well as anxiety over the as of yet uncertain
future of the country.
Liberated from
the binds of dictatorship, universities have become the
hub for the myriad of religious, political and social movements
newly emerging after decades of suppression. With this influx,
universities have witnessed the radicalization of the student
body as differing ideologies compete for ascendancy and
influence on campus. This has led to an increase in tensions
on campus with intimidation and acts of violence against
staff and students becoming a significant problem there,
threatening the new freedoms students have enjoyed since
the collapse of the Baath regime.
In order to
counter this worrying trend of radicalization, the Iraqi
Prospect Organisation has run several democracy promotion
projects at Iraqi universities over the past three years.
Our experiences have showed us that there is a strong desire
on the part of students to embrace democratic principles
in order to express their views and concerns in an effective
manner. Moreover, we have found that projects that foster
these very tools of dialogue and tolerance can effectively
undermine the radicalizing elements on campus and consolidate
democratic principles amongst a crucial section of Iraq's
civil society.
This report
gives a brief overview of the state of Iraq's universities
and student life as well as a synopsis of IPO's activities
at Iraqi universities over the past three years.
