Before 1958, Iraq functioned under a British style constitution with a Hashemite king, the same family which rules in Jordan. There were several political parties and a relatively free press. A recent article in the leading US journal Foreign Affairs argues that a resoration should at least be considered. Those interested in developments in Iraq may be interested in the following article by experts on Iraq:-
How to Build a Democratic Iraq
Adeed I. Dawisha and Karen Dawisha
From Foreign
Affairs, May/June 2003
Summary: What follows the war in Iraq will be at least as important as the war itself. Nurturing democracy there after Saddam won’t be easy. But it may not be impossible either. Iraq has several assets doing for it, including an educated middle class and a history of political pluralism under an earlier monarchy.