The US Presence in Iraq - Emerging Positions of Iraqi Political Parties

Amidst the ongoing policy conversation about US-Iran escalations and the consequences for the American presence in the region, scant attention has been given to the...

Mosul and Basra After the Protests - The Roots of Government Failure and Popular Discontent

Based on 50 interviews with key figures in Basra and Mosul’s government, private sector, and civil society (conducted by the authors during March–September 2019) as...

Sulaimani Forum 2019

Below are links of the program, livestream video, and photos of the event: Access the program of the sixth annual Sulaimani Forum here. Access videos...

Our Publications

The US Presence in Iraq - Emerging Positions of Iraqi Political Parties

Amidst the ongoing policy conversation about US-Iran escalations and the consequences for the American presence in the region, scant attention has been given to the...

Read More

Mosul and Basra After the Protests - The Roots of Government Failure and Popular Discontent

Based on 50 interviews with key figures in Basra and Mosul’s government, private sector, and civil society (conducted by the authors during March–September 2019) as...

Read More

The Kurdish Duopoly: The Political Economy of Two-Party Rule

This blogpost, originally published by the London School of Economics Middle East Centre, is part of the LSE research project ‘Conflict Drivers within the Kurdistan...

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Basra's Protest Movement & Unemployment: Contesting Party Dominance of the Oil Sector

In Basra’s mass protests of 2018, unemployment was central to the rhetoric and mobilization strategies of all the key political actors – protesters, government officials,...

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Basra's Political Marketplace: Understanding Government Failure After the Protests

To date, the policy discussion on Basra has revolved around whether or not the newly appointed central government under Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi’s leadership can...

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Reintegration of Combatants in Iraq after ISIL

The campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) culminated on 9 December 2017 when Prime Minister Abadi declared that ISIL no...

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Iraq's Disputed Internal Boundaries After ISIS: Heterogeneous Actors Vying for Influence

Conflict between Erbil and Baghdad over the disputed internal boundaries (DIBs) has long been a central destabilizing feature of the post-2003 era. However, in recent...

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Iraq's 2018 Government Formation: Unpacking the Friction Between Reform and the Status Quo

This report analyzes the 2018 government formation process in Iraq. It argues that the process is marked by two competing trends, a bottom-up movement demanding...

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Iraq's Investment Spending Deficit: An Analysis of Chronic Failures

The proposed 2019 budget law brought into sharp focus systemic failures in the crafting of successive Iraqi governments’ economic policy since 2003. For years, the...

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Security and Governance in the Disputed Territories Under a Fractured GOI: The Case of Northern Diyala

Originally published in the LSE Middle East Centre blog by IRIS Research Fellow Zmkan Ali Saleem, IRIS Director of Research and Policy, Mac Skelton, and...

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Our Events

The Political Economy and Economic Decision Making of Iraqi IDPs

On February 17, 2020, IRIS hosted a policy roundtable discussion with Joshua Stacey of Social Inquiry. Mr. Stacy presented data from a report conducted by....

Monday, February 17, 2020 - 13:45

The Failure of Reconstruction in Iraq - Spotlight on Mosul

On November 25, 2019, IRIS hosted a panel discussion with Abdulaziz Jarba of Al-Tahreer Association for Development, Dr. Zmkan Ali Saleem of IRIS, and Dr....

Monday, November 25, 2019 - 19:30

Iraq Protests - State Violence and The Challenge of Reform

On November 11, 2019, IRIS hosted a roundtable discussion with Simona Foltyn of France 24 English, Faris Kamal Nadhmi of Salahaddin University, and Dr. Renad....

Monday, November 11, 2019 - 16:45

Can Community Policing Increase State Legitimacy? Preliminary Findings from Iraq

On November 6, 2019, IRIS hosted a roundtable discussion with Robina Fellow at Yale Law School, Dr. Mara Revkin, entitled "Can Community Policing Increase State....

Wednesday, November 6, 2019 - 16:30

The Protest Movement - Causes and Consequences

On October 8, 2019, IRIS hosted a roundtable discussion with IRIS staff Dr. Mac Skelton, Zainab Hamid, Dr. Zmkan Ali Saleem, and Rahman Al Jebouri....

Tuesday, October 8, 2019 - 18:30

A Conversation with NED VP Brian Joseph

On September 19, 2019, IRIS hosted a roundtable discussion with Brian Joseph of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) entitled "Promoting Democracy in the Post-9/11....

Thursday, September 19, 2019 - 13:30

The ISIS Occupation of Mosul - Causes and Consequences - A Roundtable Discussion with Abdulaziz Al Jarba

On September 16, 2019, IRIS hosted a roundtable discussion with Abdulaziz Al Jarba of the Al-Tahreer Association for Development entitled "The ISIS Occupation of Mosul:....

Monday, September 16, 2019 - 13:15

IRIS Hosts Second Class of Iraq Leadership Fellows (ILF)

On October 21-23, 2018, The Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS) at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS) hosted the first session of....

Sunday, October 21, 2018 - 23:45

Rebuilding the State - Reconstruction, Centre-Periphery Relations, & Civil Society

Hosted at the University of Mosul on June 17, 2019, this panel discussed the challenges to rebuilding the state in Iraq, with a particular emphasis....

Monday, June 17, 2019 - 22:30

Iraq’s Crisis of Governance after the Basra Protests

On June 6, 2019 in Washington, DC, The Middle East Institute (MEI) and the Institute of Regional and International Studies (IRIS) at the American University....

Thursday, June 6, 2019 - 21:45