Relative peace gives Iraq a chance to build a functioning state

SINCE THEIS overthrow of Saddam Hussein, a blood-soaked despot, Iraq has lurched from crisis to civil war and back again. Today, as the country prepares for an , many Iraqis say they are too disgusted to vote. What is the point, they ask, when the government they will elect can barely govern, when politicians are useless and corrupt, and when the country is really run by militias, factions, tribal chiefs and foreign powers?Yet there is cause for hope. The main one is that Iraq is less violent than it was. As recently as 2014, a third of its territory was controlled by Islamic State (), a group that enslaved women and burned people in cages. Since the “caliphate” was crushed in 2017, a measure of calm has returned, letting businesses operate and children walk to school without fear of being blown apart by a car bomb. The economy is set to recover from the shock of covid-19. And peace creates an opportunity for Iraqis to build a state that actually works.