Transformation of Criminal Justice Institutions in Iraq

University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM

Investigators

Abstract

This project, submitted under the Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) program, will examine the role of the criminal justice system in the creation of political order in Iraq in the post-war period. Specifically, it will examine efforts by the U.S. occupation and peacekeeping operations, under the direction of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), to help transform Iraqi criminal justice institutions. It will draw upon, and contribute to, three theoretical literatures: that in criminal justice (where it will examine the possible synergies and tensions among the goals of public value, legitimacy and operational capability in the Iraqi context), public administration (where it will examine the value of performance measures in shaping criminal justice policy in Iraq), and political sociology (where it will focus on the possibility of cross-ethnic and -regional integration in the wake of the military defeat of Iraq). The primary focus of the proposed research is transformation of Iraqi criminal justice institutions, and the idea that organizations achieve what they measure. This transformation, however, is part of the construction of new sets of institutions to govern Iraqi society. While the proposed research will not attempt a comprehensive study of this broader transformation, inevitably the PI will learn a great deal about it. This understanding will be used to identify the broader constraints and opportunities of in transforming Iraqi criminal justice institutions. The research will examine the strategies, problems, dispositions, and opportunities of first the U.S., and then Iraqi, decisionmakers and policy implementers involved in criminal justice policies. Data collection will involve interviews with both American and Iraqi officials in charge of criminal justice implementation, and the primary focus will be on the arenas of policing and corrections. The researcher has been authorized for travel to Iraq by the State Department, and has been assured of the cooperation of both the U.S. military and the relevant authorities in the CPA in carrying out his research. The proposed research holds the promise of making a substantial contribution to U.S. goals in the Middle East, and will contribute to the scholarly fields of criminal justice, public administration, and political sociology.