American Foreign Policy : A Study of American Policy Decisions in Iraq to Promote Democracy

The essay aims to analyze and understand the policy decisions taken by the Americans during their tenure as occupying force from 2003-2004. By understanding what policy was enacted it is possible to judge how it impacted things down the line. Using democratization theory, it becomes possible to categorize a large amount of policy during that time. Meaning there can be a large-scale analysis of the policies and judge if they pushed democracy forward in Iraq. The two research questions are how the US planned to turn Iraq into a democracy and if the policy covered all the five arenas of democratization. After analyzing the material through the five arenas, the two research questions are answered. The US planned for the wrong things and only in Iraq did their plan crystalize. It involved focusing on changes in society that benefitted democracy, but with a top down approach. The policies covered all five arenas of democratisation meaning they were widely applied and pushed democracy in Iraq. The US intended to turn Iraq into a democracy and the policy employed during their tenure supports that goal