ANN ARBOR—The historic signing Monday of an interim constitution by Iraq’s Governing Council lays the groundwork for a democratic society there. But will it work?

On Tuesday (March 9), former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will discuss the issue in a speech at the University of Michigan. Albright, who is the distinguished scholar at the William Davidson Institute at the Michigan Business School, will talk about democracy building in Iraq. The speech, titled “Prospects for Democracy in the Middle East,” also will cover Islam and the role of women.

A group of local Arab-Americans will attend Albright’s speech, which begins at 4 p.m. Tuesday in Room 1276D in Davidson Hall on the U-M campus. 

On Wednesday (March 10), Albright will talk about today’s international environment and how certain institutions, such as the United Nations, World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund, are performing. She will discuss whether it is time to restructure these organizations or perhaps create new ones.

She will be available to the media following her Wednesday speech to discuss a variety of topics, including the Middle East, the state of affairs of the United States and the 2004 presidential campaign.

The speech will be at 4:30 p.m. at Hale Auditorium at the Business School. The media availability will be at 5:45 p.m. in the Paton Archive nearby.