Final answer:
Iraq's parliamentary democracy based on federalism and featuring both a president and a prime minister was instituted to ensure separation of powers, create checks and balances, promote political stability with diverse representation, and align with international democratic standards.
Step-by-step explanation:
The parliamentary democracy based on federalism, with a president and a prime minister sharing powers, was established in Iraq in 2012 to address several fundamental goals. Among these, ensuring a separation of powers was crucial to maintain the independent operation of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Another goal was to establish a system of checks and balances to prevent any one branch from gaining too much power. Most importantly, this structure aimed to promote political stability and the representation of Iraq's diverse groups by sharing power at different levels of government and across various branches. Lastly, aligning with international standards of democratic governance provided a framework that is recognized and respected globally. In Iraq's semi-presidential system, which blends features of both parliamentary and presidential systems, the president has a significant role, though not absolute as in some other countries. The prime minister is typically the leader of the majority party in the legislature and can dissolve the lower house, while the president cannot, reflecting the shared powers and responsibilities in this form of government.