What is a Constitution?

As Iraqis go to the polls this weekend to ratify or reject a new constitution, it is important to remember what a constitution actually is, and what it is not.

A constitution, simply put, is a blueprint for how a government will be structured. It is not--contrary to the impression given by most of the media--some comprehensive peace settlement that will placate all sides and usher in a time of unabated tranquility. Somewhere along the way, the public perception of "constitution" seems to have morphed into the latter, media-driven definition, rather than the former. Such an all-encompassing document is impossible, even under the most idyllic of conditions. It is no wonder, then, that most media expectations are so gloomy--they demand the impractical, and then pontificate endlessly when their impractical demands of perfection are not met. This obsessive, myopic focus on short-term signs of progress (and breathless reports of impending catastrophe if those signs are not clearly and immediately evident) is wholly unique to our modern era.

Constitutions need not resolve every conflict facing a nascent nation to be effective. They need only to give the legislatures enough leeway to pass laws in the future that can address those conflicts. Constitutions do not supply consensus, nor do they reflect it, but rather they provide the institutional framework through which future consensus can one day be reached. Constitutions, by their very nature, are agreements to disagree on a broad range of issues, because the delegates know that those issues can be debated more thoroughly and openly after the constitutional foundation has been laid. These are important points to keep in mind, no matter what the outcome of Sunday's vote.

If Iraqis get a good constitution on the first try, they will have done better than we did. It took us two attempts, after floundering for over a decade under the Articles of Confederation. Somehow I doubt that fact will garner much attention in the days ahead, thanks to a public discourse largely bereft of historical perspective.