Iraq

The 2019 uprising ended violently, but young people’s fight for a better future carries on. Hayder Al Shakeri meets the activists adopting new tactics to tackle Iraq’s most pressing challenge yet.

Tel Aviv may have the upper hand over Tehran, but Israel’s 1981 attack on Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor stands as a warning about the risks of miscalculation, writes Marion Messmer.

Transnational conflict in the Middle East is fuelled by both ‘legal’ and ‘illegal’ trade. Mapping these cross-border dynamics can help understand and address violent conflict.

Twenty years after the invasion, corruption has prevented the delivery of real democracy.

As dust storms in the Middle East become increasingly frequent and intense, adversaries must cooperate to address the causes.

Episode 27 of our weekly podcast examines the Syrian regime with signs that governments in the Middle East are prepared to engage with Bashar al-Assad again.

Countries across the Middle East have engaged in an unprecedented pattern of reconciliation to protect their interests amid fluctuations in the international order. But without deliberate international support, these new ties can easily unravel.

The journalist tells Roxanne Escobales about how the 2003 invasion failed his country, the importance of the BBC World Service and flourishing Iraqi fiction.

The latest restrictions are a symptom of increased US-Iran tensions. But as Iraq’s elite find ways around them, ordinary Iraqis are the ultimate victims.

Episode 20 of our weekly podcast marks 20 years since the invasion of Iraq, with special guest Clare Short who resigned from the UK government over the issue.

Relying on weak intelligence for invading Iraq has had a negative impact on US and UK credibility with several consequences that persist to this day.

Short animation explaining why international policymakers must develop strategies to transform elite bargains into accountable political systems.

This essay collection explores two decades of state-building in Iraq and the lessons to be learned.

The shadow of this doomed invasion can be seen in the incoherent approach to other conflicts, from Libya to Syria.

After avoiding obliteration by Islamic State, the Yazidis of Iraq and beyond began an urgent project to record their rich heritage, says Helen Fitzwilliam.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani must address politically sanctioned corruption head-on, or he risks falling into the same trap as his predecessors.

Stephanie Carvin explains why technology does not overcome the challenges of war.

A system involving doctors, pharmacists, political parties, armed groups, and businesspeople fuels corruption and conflict in a medicine supply chain which kills people every year.

Episode five of our new weekly podcast has a Middle East focus with insights into what is driving the ongoing protests in Iran, and the progress of Iraq in the years since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Political unrest since last year’s election has claimed dozens of lives – but high-level corruption has quietly killed many more Iraqis, says Renad Mansour.

Examining the crossover between water security and climate change with the next two COPs taking place in regions with a history of being water stressed.

After supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr storm the Iraqi parliament, a Chatham House survey of residents in Baghdad’s Sadr City gives a rare insight into the actions and motivations of the populist cleric.

Despite their disillusionment with Iraq’s political system, the country’s youth have hope and aspirations for real change.

Poor infrastructure and even poorer governance is a critical part of the story of healthcare in Iraq, but so too is the complex issue of the movement and supply of medicines.

Short video explainer about how, since 2003, Iraq’s elites have appropriated the country’s rich cultural heritage in the service of various undesirable agendas.

The UK has axed its Middle East and North Africa minister. This will leave the Foreign Office stretched thin and constrain Britain’s global influence.

A new generation of independent MPs and parties emerging from the protests in Iraq can reform the country’s politics, but only if they work together.

To tackle corruption in the MENA region, the international community must prioritize accountability over stability.

Although the election results appear to show a shift in political support, there is a clear disparity between the popular vote and the allocation of power.

Many Iraqis are disillusioned with their unaccountable political system, which deprives them of basic services and fundamental standards of living.

The sustained backing of reform-minded officials within Iraq, alongside durable support from international stakeholders, will be essential to fostering an environment in which young political and civil society actors and entrepreneurs can work together to overcome systemic barriers to change.

This paper explores how the remote border district of Sinjar in Iraq became a transnational conflict hub that threatens wider security in the Middle East.

This paper explores how mechanisms nominally designed to deliver democratic and accountable governance in Iraq often fail to do so in practice. It offers a plan to tackle the problem by connecting and mobilizing networks of reformers across state and society.

A historic opportunity exists to promote multilateral cooperation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, building on recent political de-escalation. With the right design, a new forum could succeed where previous initiatives have failed.

Political settlements in Iraq, Lebanon and Libya have long relied on deals between elites to ensure ‘stability’, but the resulting power-sharing systems fuel corruption and have led to disastrous governance failings. To improve the daily lives of citizens under these settlements, international policymakers must focus on increasing the accountability of elites.

With consistent and long-term support from the US, the Abraham Accords could have a transformative impact on Middle East economic cooperation and regional security.

This paper explores the ever-shifting identity and political strategy of Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and offers a sociological analysis of his voter base.

Political and religious elites are increasingly capturing Iraq’s cultural heritage for sectarian and commercial purposes, reducing its role as a public good and further dividing Iraqi society.

This paper examines why successive updates to Iraq’s electoral laws have failed to reform the dynamics of government formation.

This paper explores how political parties compete and cooperate for power in formal institutions in the Iraqi state, notably through appointing senior civil servants to do their bidding.

The ‘state’ in Iraq and Lebanon is not confined to official structures, and should be understood instead as the embodiment of power relationships between diverse actors such as political parties, armed groups and societal leaders.

Getting to a security framework for the Middle East needs the buy-in of all regional actors, enabled by critical external partners. The time to act is now, argue Sanam Vakil and Neil Quilliam.

Future reform efforts in Iraq must be guided by strategies that better understand the nature of PMF networks and their links to state power structures.

This paper assesses the ongoing constitutional battle over the devolution of powers in Iraq and looks at the possibility of a long-term solution.

This briefing guides policymakers, international financial institutions, and development agencies in designing and implementing public sector reform programmes.

International policymakers have failed to stabilize states such as Iraq and Yemen, partially because of the assumed binary distinction between state failure and success. This paper advocates for a ‘middle–out’ approach that aims to strengthen the connectivity between the bureaucracy and de facto authorities.

This report examines the common economic factors that continue to drive conflict in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen. It also makes specific recommendations to Western policymakers addressing these types of sub-economies in detail.

In the first of a new annual series, Chatham House experts examine how aspects of the established order in global affairs are shifting.

The Euphrates’ existing resource security challenges have been compounded by upheaval in Syria and Iraq. Without urgent attention, stresses on the river’s resources will add to the catastrophic humanitarian crisis created by the conflict.