In comparison to previous demonstrations in the KRI, the rhetoric of the December 2020 protests was more absolutist and its geographical scope was unprecedented. Far-flung mid-sized towns such as Kalar and Kifri witnessed some of the largest gatherings as well as the destruction of political party offices. Meanwhile, the response... Read More

This report argues that throughout Iraq’s continued attempts to transition to democracy, women’s rights actors have faced significant challenges to further women’s participation in a number of areas. These challenges have arisen as a result of infighting among women’s networks, questions over a feminist agenda or women’s empowerment working framework,... Read More

This report argues that the protest movement emerged spontaneously and represents a novel kind of social movement in Iraq, pushing the boundaries of what constitutes civil society and activism. The role of traditional civil society–i.e. civil society organizations (CSOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)–was relatively minimal in driving the formation and... Read More

After the reunification of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in 2005, the region was governed under a power sharing coalition dominated by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK). The parties’ previously separate de facto governments were incorporated into a unitary political system governed on the... Read More

This piece analyses past and present elite responses to protests for insight into how al-Kadhimi can forge a better path ahead. It argues that the situation is not ripe for incremental reform, and that any real change would require al-Kadhimi to take a radical shift against the vested interests of... Read More

In February 2006, Ahmed Sharif’s (names of individuals have been changed to preserve anonymity) quiet life in the Hayy al-Jamaa neighborhood of western Baghdad changed forever. Militants associated with al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) bombed the Shiite al Askari shrine in Samara. Within days of the attack, reports indicate that... Read More

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) has generally lacked the security incidents common throughout the country since 2003. Yet, tension between the main political parties ruling over the region – the Erbil-based Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Sulaimani-based Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) – has increasingly come to the... Read More

Since 2003, analysts have conceptualized Iraqi politics from the standpoint of the national scene in Baghdad. From this perspective, power dynamics in Iraq are understood through the lens of a national quota-based system (called muhassasah in Arabic) that distributes ministries and oil revenues across the country’s political groups according to... Read More

This report addresses the root causes of the failure of reconstruction in Mosul between 2003 and the present. Since the first days of the post-2003 era, reconstruction and overall responsiveness to the local populace have taken a backseat to a chaotic, violent struggle for control over the city between many... Read More

After two years of political turmoil in Nineveh, the appointment of the retired general Najm al-Jabouri as governor created a sense of optimism locally. Finally the province would be ruled by a popular and decisive figure who would restore a measure of... Read More