The Forth annual Sulaimani Forum
The fourth Annual Sulaimani Forum convened at a pivotal time in the history of Iraq and the greater Middle East. Regional competition for influence and power is exacerbating domestic instability in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere, creating a febrile mix. Political and socioeconomic tumult has already been manifest in revolution and violence, and has bred extremism that is most manifest in rise of DAESH and other terrorist groups. These conditions are reshaping thinking about the state and governance in Iraq and the Middle East. Pressure on the existing nation-state model that has prevailed for the past century is forcing a reimagining of governance systems and the underlying social compact that has underpinned them; international borders are being reshaped; and governments are being forced to consider much-needed economic reform as well as how to engage a new generation of technologically savvy citizens determined to improve their future.
