| Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
November 4, 2003

Toward Legitimacy: Strategic Institution Building

Jack Goldstone
Maurice P. McTigue
Vernon Smith

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Maurice McTigue, Vice President of Mercatus, Vernon Smith, Mercatus Center Fellow, and Jack Goldstone, Mercatus Center Fellow, participate in a panel discussion concerning reconstruction in Iraq.

Summary

This panel discussion delves into important questions facing Iraq's reconstruction. What are the preconditions for a stable civil society to exist? Is it possible to create a stable civil society from what has been an autocracy or a dictatorship, and be able to do that in such a way that it’s going to remain stable over time and not drip back into the unfortunate experiences of the past? How should the countries natural resources be harnessed to support the Iraqi people, rather than to simply be a prize for aspiring dictators?