Policy Analysis

While Iraqi elites seem to see the announcement of early elections as a major development, polling reveals that Iraqi public opinion is less optimistic about the moves ability to promise major change.

Iraq’s current government lacks a robust policy of economic diplomacy needed to improve its international economic relations and therefore its domestic economic conditions. Iraq must strike balanced relationships with regional neighbors and global powers to unlock the potential of its workforce and reduce its regional dependencies. In the midst of

Whether or not the decision is made to actually close the embassy, what is certain is that the American administration with its warning that it may do so has sent a strong message to the Iraqi government and the forces of the political process in Iraq. It alerts Iraqis that

One of the most common terms used among Iraqi elites to criticize the current state is the concept of the non-state, or al-ladaula. Anyone closely observing Iraq’s political affairs cannot avoid reading and hearing this word multiple times a day, given its prominent usage on TV debates, Whatsapp chats, local

Over the last four years, Kurds in Iran have watched Kurdish communities in Syria and Iraq continue to suffer losses at the hands of hostile forces, disoriented by the turbulent shifts in Washington’s decision-making. It once seemed that the United States would support change in Iran beneficial to the country’s

In 1992, as I watched the celebrations for the inauguration of al-Tabiqayn Bridge in Baghdad (formerly, al-Qa’id Bridge) on Al-Shabab Television, I turned to my wife and said: “wouldn’t it have been better for us if the cost of this bridge had been spent on better flour for us to

Last week, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi led a large cabinet delegation to Washington D.C. for new sessions of the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Dialogue, topped off by the first Iraqi prime ministerial visit to the White House in over three years. During the visit, I spoke to most of the Iraqi

After much anticipation, the White House confirmed in an official August 2 statement that a meeting between the Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and U.S. President Donald Trump will take place this week to discuss “challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic as well as security, energy, and economic issues.” The

Since Iraq’s first case of COVID-19 in late February, the Iraqi state has struggled to contend with stagnant economic growth, political unrest, and divided popular opinion as cases continue to rise through the summer. Despite early attempts to slow the spread of the virus, the rocky relationship between Iraq’s people

On July 30, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi announced that early elections in Iraq will take place on June 6, 2021. Following the announcement, various political parties unleashed a barrage of statements in Iraqi media, with some asking for even ‘earlier’ elections. This camp included the President, the Speaker, the UN

When I moved into new accommodations in the centre of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq, the lift announcements in the apartment tower were in Chinese, followed by Kurdish, Arabic and English. This multilingualism was surprising but positive; it was a clear sign of the

While much ink has been spilled over whether Iran and the United States have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of new Iraqi Prime Minster Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the most important opinion is that of Iraqis. It is particularly important what Iraq’s Shia population thinks of their new prime minister, as they

On July 6, 2020, Iraq’s most prolific security commentator Husham al-Hashemi was assassinated in Zayouna, a social melting pot neighborhood of east Baghdad. At 8:19 pm, he arrived outside his home, driving his own unarmored white SUV. Seconds before, two motorbikes pulled up, each carrying two young men. They knew

The United States and Iraq officially launched the bilateral strategic dialogue on June 11 as an opportunity to mend relations under the newly formed Iraqi government. While Iranian backed forces hoped for the initial meeting to produce dramatic results vis-a-vis the future of U.S. presence in the region, the first

On April 7, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for a “Strategic Dialogue” between the United States and Iraq on the future of the bilateral relationship. The dialogue, meant to be a series of meetings between high-level U.S. and Iraqi officials, is intended to put all aspects of the

The new Prime Minister of Iraq—Mustafa alKadhemi (MK)—has finally proven to be the nominee who has made it to the finish line and formed the 7 th Iraqi government after the 2003 regime change. The new government, sworn in on early hours of May 7, saw 15 out of 22

Even in relatively secular countries such as Germany, religion has played an important role in the public’s ability to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic—especially through religious practices like public prayer. However, countries where the role of religious leaders and followers is far more complicated and vital face additional challenges in

As the world navigates a state of economic paralysis, Middle Eastern nations are struggling to address the various consequences of a global downturn—including the precipitous drop in oil prices. As a region that is heavily dependent on oil production for economic survival, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) is especially

In her December 2019 piece for Quartz, the geopolitics expert Annalisa Merelli identified 20 countries now governed by populist movements and 14 other countries—Iraq included—where populist parties played a pivotal role in policy making. The quick spread of populist movements over the past few years has been a reactionary response

The outbreak of coronavirus is just the most recent misfortune for Iraq, which is suffering a complicated political deadlock created by the October 2019 protests against Iraq’s political elites. Iraq’s political leadership has failed to lead the country for the last seventeen years, focusing satisfying the country’s competing political blocs