Policy Analysis

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  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeySecurity and Defense

    Turkey’s Self-Fulfilling Prophecy in Iraq

    Sep 28, 2022Mustafa Gurbuz

    Head of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization Hakan Fidan’s recent visit to Baghdad was an attempt to heal wounds that were opened during a diplomatic ro…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Iran’s Cautious Stance on Iraq’s Current Political Crisis

    Sep 27, 2022Zeidon Alkinani

    Iraqi politicians have repeatedly failed to form a government in the eleven months that have passed since the country’s October 2021 elections, in large part d…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    In Iraq’s Political Stalemate, Sadr May Be in Charge

    Aug 23, 2022Zeidon Alkinani

    Iraq’s political deadlock has grown more intense and complex in recent months. The stalemate that has reigned since the re-election of Speaker of Parliament Mo…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqDemocracy and Governance

    Iraq’s Political Crisis: A Country Adrift in Chaos

    Aug 10, 2022Rend Al-Rahim

    Rend Al-Rahim discusses the latest events in Iraqi politics, including the Sadrist Movement’s political maneuvering and its incitement of street protests that …

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    Reflections on President Biden’s Predictably Disappointing Middle East Trip

    Jul 21, 2022Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Laurie King Rend Al-Rahim

    US President Joe Biden visited Israel, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia from July 13 to 16 to meet with various regional leaders. This was Biden’s first visit as pr…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Iraq-Jordan-Egypt Entente Moves Ahead Despite the GCC’s Shadow

    Jul 19, 2022Gregory Aftandilian

    In recent years, Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan have come together to form a sort of alliance based on shared security, political, and economic interests. Since 2019,…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantProtests and Activism

    The Political Transformation of Protest Movements in Iraq and Lebanon

    Jun 24, 2022Zeidon Alkinani

    Despite the limited achievements of Iraq and Lebanon's recently-established protest movements compared to their stated objectives, the movements’ small gains m…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Iraq’s Government Formation Hindered by Intra-Group Political Competitions

    May 2, 2022Zeidon Alkinani

    Zeidon Alkinani argues that the current political deadlock in Iraq in choosing a president and a prime minister is fueled by intra-group competitions in the Sh…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqDemocracy and Governance

    Iraq Awaits the End of Its Political Deadlock

    Apr 18, 2022Rend Al-Rahim

    In Iraq’s parliamentary elections last October, the Sadrist Movement led by the Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr emerged as the largest bloc with 73 seats. Its clos…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Current Iraq-Gulf Relations: Economics over Politics?

    Mar 23, 2022Zeidon Alkinani

    The Gulf Arab states practiced an almost unified approach to post–2003 Iraq, which was generally derived from their established alliance following the 1990–199…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantViolent Extremism

    Is the Islamic State Rebounding in Syria and Iraq?

    Feb 25, 2022Gregory Aftandilian

    The nearly two-week siege in January of the Ghuwayran prison and parts of the town of Hasaka by fighters of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in northeastern Sy…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqDemocracy and Governance

    The Quiet Kurdish Rivalry over Iraq’s Presidency

    Feb 9, 2022Zeidon Alkinani

    Zeidon Alkinani discusses the rivalry between Iraq’s main Kurdish parties—the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)—and i…

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