Elections Aren't Enough

Seeing Iraqis vote is wonderful, but you can't rush democracy.
By Fred Kaplan
Posted Thursday, Dec. 15, 2005, at 5:28 PM ET

Whichever way today's Iraqi elections go, the very fact of their existence is irresistibly inspiring. Watching these long-oppressed people exercising their franchise as citizens, hearing them express their hopes for a better, freer life—who could fail to be moved or to wish them well?

Yet as we await the results (a process that could take weeks, followed by the months it will likely take to form a government), it's an apt time to step back and consider the broader prospects for Iraqi democracy. Unfortunately, they don't look so good.