What do we owe Iraq?

America is up to its neck in nation building — but the public debate, focused on getting the troops home, devotes little attention to why we are building a new Iraqi nation, what success would look like, or what principles should guide us. What We Owe Iraq sets out to shift the terms of the debate, acknowledging that we are nation building to protect ourselves while demanding that we put the interests of the people being governed — whether in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, or elsewhere — ahead of our own when we exercise power over them.

Noah Feldman argues that to prevent nation building from turning into a paternalistic, colonialist charade, we urgently need a new, humbler approach. Nation builders should focus on providing security, without arrogantly claiming any special expertise in how successful nation-states should be made. Drawing on his personal experiences in Iraq as a constitutional adviser, Feldman offers enduring insights into the power dynamics between the American occupiers and the Iraqis, and tackles issues such as Iraqi elections, the prospect of successful democratization, and the way home.

Elections do not end the occupier's responsibility. Unless asked to leave, we must resist the temptation of a military pullout before a legitimately elected government can maintain order and govern effectively. But elections that create a legitimate democracy are also the only way a nation builder can put itself out of business and — eventually — send its troops home.

"Though there are books on the 'how-to' of nation-building, there are none on the ethical theories behind it, says Feldman, author of After Jihad: America and the Struggle for Islamic Democracy and former senior constitutional adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. Feldman, who teaches law at NYU, does not address the legality or wisdom of the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime, nor the question of when international intervention is justified. He includes some useful anecdotes from his Iraqi tenure, though he doesn't aim to produce a comprehensive account of political negotiations there. But his knowledge of the facts on the ground does lead him to conclude that the U.S. needs to stay in Iraq for democracy to take; his book, based on lectures delivered at Princeton in April 2004, constructs an ethics for doing so. Considering trusteeship, he argues that the American presence in Iraq should facilitate public speech, assembly and participation in administration. He also warns Americans to abandon the notion that they know how to produce a functioning democracy, something that has already come to pass. Written with tempered passion and a grounded sense of the possibilities, Feldman's book nicely bridges theory and practice, even as some events outpace it. Agent, Heather Schroder of ICM. (Nov.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"[Feldman] remains an ardent democracy-booster, but his time on the ground in Baghdad seems to have chastened him." Gary Rosen, Wall Street Journal

?The book, like its author, is an unusual blend: part theoretical treatise, part political analysis, part memoir.? Robert Fagan, The New York Times Book Review

?[I]nterspersed with some deeper notes on the theory and practice of nation-building are his pithy reminiscences.? Andrew Cockburn, The Nation

?Feldman's book is insightful, accessible and highly recommended for policymakers and readers interested in understanding the opportunities and hazards that will confront America as the world's foremost nation-builder?. Richard A. Clarke, The Washington Post Book World

?The book is original and refreshingly free of ideology and partisanship?. Andrew Apostolou, The New York Post

?The parts of this book that have continuing value are the guidelines Feldman lays out for rescuing failed states?. Steven Vincent, The American Enterprise

"Noah Feldman is a rapidly rising star in the American intellectual firmament. This elegant set of essays showcases his keen intelligence and sweeping erudition. It illuminates America's mission in Iraq, and much more."--Fareed Zakaria, Editor, "Newsweek International," author of "The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad."

"If you are wrestling with the question of why the United States is in Iraq, committed to the reconstruction of that troubled nation, there is no better place to start than with Noah Feldman's timely and thought-provoking new book. Deftly weaving his own experiences in the rebuilding of Iraq, political philosophy, constitutional law, and a broad perspective on American interests in the world, Feldman elevates the debate on this issue above the platitudes of the politicians."--Kenneth M. Pollack, Director of Research, Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution

"Intervening in another country and rebuilding its institutions after tyranny amounts to a moral promise. Noah Feldman's fine book is a lucid, passionate, and closely reasoned examination of what it means to try to keep that promise. There are plenty of books around that treat nation building as a technical or military exercise. This is the book that thinks through nation building as a moral challenge and an exercise in promise keeping."--Michael Ignatieff, Director, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Harvard University, author of "The Lesser Evil"

"A coherent, tightly argued, penetrating, timely, and provocative book. Noah Feldman provides both a clear-sighted discussion of constitutional aspects of nation building and a fascinating account of postwarIraq."--G. John Ikenberry, Albert G. Milbank Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University, author of "The Nation State in Question"

Subtitled, "War & The Ethics Of Nation Building", this is a tightly argued and provocative discussion of post-war Iraq, and the responsibilities and duties of the nation builders.