What role does the creation of a constitution play in reducing violence?
The constitution structures the political institutions of a state. The structure of political institutions in the state can either make conflict worse or make it better. The constitution that was agreed upon in Iraq in 2005 was one that was guaranteed to make things worse, much worse. How so? The constitution was essentially a Kurdish design for Iraq. The Kurds want a very substantial amount of autonomy, and they sold the Shia on that kind of constitution, creating a decentralized Iraq, including the decentralization of future oil revenues. The Sunnis were underrepresented at the time in the parliament, and they were underrepresented in the constitution-drafting committee. The result was that the Sunnis, who live in a very oil-poor area, and who, in any case, want a single, unified Iraq, were gravely disadvantaged by the constitution. Furthermore, any new amendments will have to be ratified in a referendum. And a two-thirds vote against amendments in any three provinces will defeat the
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