CHALLENGE OF THIRD WORLD DEVELOPMENT

A Third World Country Report of Iraq

Name

Dr. Rasool Nafisi

Sociology 300

A term paper presented to the General Studies Department

Strayer University Online in partial fulfillment for the completion of Sociology 300

General Studies Department (Sociology)

Strayer University Online

August 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dependency and Modernization Theories…………………………………………………… 4

Religion and Politics……………………………………………………………………………………………… 5

Democracy and Dictatorship……………………………………………..…………………….. 6

Ethnic- Cultural Divisions………………………………………………………………………...7

Women and Development…………………..…………………………………………………………………. 8

Global Issues……………………………………………………………………………………………… 9 …show more content…

When a nation undergoes a democratic transition they move from an authoritarian to a democratic government. This transition is onset when, “an authoritarian government shows the first observable signs of collapsing or of negotiating its departure from power. [And] ends when the first freely elected government takes office.” (Handelman, p.32). A nation cannot become democratically consolidated until there is a widespread acceptance of democratic values, and practices demonstrated by all politically influential groups of the society. As recent as 2006, Iraq transitioned to a fully democratic nation; although, prior to this transition, Iraq was portrayed to be governed by a dictatorship style regime. However, this was not the case. Under the previous government, the Ba’ath Party, the fundamental ideology was designed to foster a strong sense of Arab socialism. Iraq is now a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic. The nation’s newly enacted constitution guarantees basic human rights, which provides proof to Handelman’s definition of a full democracy. Also, all of the officials within the federal democratic republic are elected officials, which is yet another telling sign that the nation has embraced democracy.
Ethnic-Cultural Divisions Ethnicity can be defined as a “…social construction---a way that certain groups have come to view themselves over time as distinct from others—rather than inherent or primordial characteristics.” (Handelman,