A constitution that is acceptable to all, as first the European Union and now the Iraqis have discovered this summer, is no easy task. It took the United States more than a decade after the declaration of independence, so the faltering progress of post-Saddam Iraq's (an agreed text has been twice delayed) should not be regarded as too exceptional.
Still, Iraq needs a constitution. Slate, the US webzine, has taken a rather novel approach to the task and taken on board the Wisdom of Crowds thinking of James Surowiecki – which says a diverse mass can outthink an elite – in order to challenge its readers to write a constitution for Iraq. Despite the rather demanding nature of the competition – this is, after all, a level above spot-the-ball – task-setter Timothy Noah got enough entries to choose four runnersup and one winner.
Most grappled with the same problems as the writers of Iraq's hoped for constitution (which you can read in an edited form here) – the degree of federalism, how to protect minority and women's rights if the law is derived from Islam, the allocation of oil revenues – and decided to leave them for a later date.
The winner, Aaron Rabiroff, draws comparisons with the US constitution to make his point. As that document set out the composition of national government and ignored issues such as the separation of church and state and slavery, he argues for a minimal Iraqi constitution that would allow a future legislative process to resolve contentious matters over time. "The finality of a constitutional solution would encourage extremism over these questions," he writes. "A political solution […] encourages groups to participate in the political process and resolve conflicts peacefully, which is the whole point of democracy."
The most surprising comparison, however, is third placed runner-up, Gerry Harold, and his suggestion that Iraq could be more like Canada.
Iraq, with a population of 26 million, is similar in many ways to Canada. Regional differences, religious differences, resource disparity by region, yet a federal/provincial system works. Too bad Pierre Trudeau is not alive to help the Iraqis with their constitution-writing.
