Complexity Theory, Democratic Transition and Public Policy Choices in Iraq

This article adopts Complexity Theory to improve understanding of Iraq's future patterns of democratic stabilization and consolidation. It emphasizes the importance of soft technologies, as well as hard technologies for making better public policy choices. The article also sheds light on Iraq's institutional evolution, on its processes and mechanisms of variation and replication. It emphasizes the importance of new culturally-sensitive public policies and political economies. The first part of the article briefly describes the main political, economic, social and cultural changes in Iraq since the fall of the Saddam regime. The second part discusses the system of social security in Iraq and in formerly ISIS controlled territories. The final section deals with important challenges of de-radicalization necessary that are necessary for the democratization, liberalization, institutionalization and consolidation of new institutions. A new spatial politics of public policy making in formerly ISIS-occupied territories is also discussed in the concluding section