Labour Friends of Iraq

Initial Call for Papers
A multidisciplinary conference in applied social science and history 6-7 January 2006 at Kingston University, London, UK
Kingston University’s Helen Bamber Centre, the Labour Friends of Iraq and the UK Iraqi Community Association
This conference in London aims to marry theory, history, and practice in the service of contributing to the consolidation of democracy in Iraq.
It is intended to produce practical conclusions and recommendations that might help build the capacity for consolidation in Iraq, including by enabling the Iraqi diaspora community to contribute to the democratization process. The conference proposes to do this not by extending purely academic debates about the causes of democratisation and democratic consolidation but instead as an exercise in applied social science theory and history. It is based on the assumption that valuable contributions to this post-war goal can be made by scholars, researchers, and practitioners regardless of their original views on the
invasion of Iraq.
Of particular interest are the findings of social scientists and historians who have done research on cases of democracies emerging from the destruction and dislocation associated with repression or war or both. Emphasis is placed on the ability to wring practical and applicable insights from central debates in the literature on democratic consolidation which variously emphasize the causal importance of cultural characteristics, strategic choice, economic performance,
institutional design, and other factors.
The conference will include both overview plenary sessions and a series of panel sessions exploring issues such as:
Security
Federalism
Equality
Human Rights
Institutional Design
Religion
Voting/Participation
Freedom of Expression
This is a preliminary list of topics; we welcome suggestions for additional panels and volunteers for panel organisers. In all cases, scholarly debates need to be contextualised and presented in such a way that practitioners and on-the-ground participants in events in Iraq can make use of them. Our aim is to help Iraqi democrats debate the relative merits of the arguments presented and move from theory to practice, from abstraction to a more predictable future for their children.
If you are interested in making a contribution then please send a 500 word abstract which either (1) summarizes your work on democratic consolidation and describes what lessons it might hold for the Iraqi case, or (2) suggests a theme for a panel and indicates people you would wish to invite.
Professor Brian Brivati, Kingston University, UK
Professor Gerard Alexander, University of Virginia, USA
Responses should be sent by 30 September to nd.j@ukonline.co.uk

Gerard Baker, in the Times examines the arguments about the links between the London bombings and Iraq and concludes that . Invading Iraq has undoubtedly created in the minds of many millions of Muslims the idea that their people, their faith is under attack. The right way to tackle that view is not to indulge it, sympathise with it or nurse it, but to correct it. The right way to deal with anti-American and anti-British sentiment in the Muslim world is not to pull out our troops from Iraq and beg forgiveness, but to continue to fight there on behalf of the majority of good Muslims for the kind of country they need and deserve.

Visit here for an article on the Iraqi Special Tribunal charges against Saddam Hussein for crimes committed during his reign. (MH)

Lesley Abdela analyses the desperate situation of women in Iraq. (AJ)

Eric Lee asks some questions.(AJ)

Nick Cohen in the Observer examines the BBC’s use of language after the recent terrorist
atrocities.

A statement against terror can be signed here. Early signatories include Omar of Iraq the Model, Peter Tatchell, Jane Ashworth (Chair, Labour Friends of Iraq) Osama Al-Moosawi, Alex Gordon (RMT), Micheline Ishay (Director, International Human Rights Program, University of Denver, personal capacity) Debbie Williams (TGWU), Adrian Cohen, and others. (AJ)

The Institute for War & Peace Reporting reports that insurgents are pressuring local doctors to leave Iraq. Incidents of murder and the violent kidnapping of doctors are on the increase. (KW)

Eric Lee has published an open letter to George Galloway. It reads: Last week, following the attacks in London, you wrote: No one can condone acts of violence aimed at working people going about their daily lives. They have not been a party to, nor are they responsible for, the decisions of their government. They are entirely innocent and we condemn those who have killed or injured them.
Today a suicide bomber killed two women and injured 24 others in an attack on a shopping mall in Netanya, Israel. Do you condemn the attack in Netanya today? I look forward to receiving your reply, which I will publish on the web.

Mariam Fam considers, on the Kurdistan Regional Government website, the tough issues facing the new Iraqi constitution drafting committee. The issues that need to be overcome, she claims, are: the structure of government, federalism, and the role of religion.