Dr. Zmkan Ali Saleem is a Research Fellow at IRIS and previously served as the Director of Research at IRIS. During his tenure, Dr. Saleem has served as a lead researcher for projects funded by the FCDO, UNAMI, European Union and the Norwegian Research Council focusing on political economy in Iraq and Kurdistan. He holds a PhD in Politics and International Studies from the University of Leeds/UK and teaches in the College of Political Science at the University of Sulaimani. His doctoral research examined the domestic determinants of Iran’s regional security policies. Saleem’s later research examined the domestic and regional determinants of Turkey’s foreign policy toward the conflicts in Iraq and Syria. Saleem has contributed to the Fikra Forum at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where he focused on the issue of sectarianism in Iraq. His current research interests include the role of non-state security actors in shaping governance and stability in Iraq.

Peer Reviewed

• Iraq’s Disputed Internal Boundaries after Daesh: Heterogenous Actors Vying for Influence, London School of Economics. Middle East Centre. Feb. 2019.