In late 2019 hundreds of thousands of Iraqis took to the streets in response to decades of high level corruption, massive youth unemployment, dysfunctional public services, and abusive treatment by the security services. In their view, the state and the constitutional system that underpinned it were collapsing. In a clear sign of their sense of marginalization from the state, the most common popular slogan carried by protesters communicated a simple demand, “I want a nation.”1 A civil disobedience campaign was organized lasting months. Central squares were occupied in more than a dozen cities. Universities and schools were forced to close their doors. Protesters made a number of demands, including a new electoral system and early elections, which many hoped would lead to much of the country’s corrupt and inept ruling class being replaced by better quality lawmakers. Many protesters considered that constitutional reform should take place if and when early elections based on a new electoral system were carried out.