Policy Analysis

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  • 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…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqDemocracy and Governance

    Iraq’s Post-Election Government Formation: Political Deadlock

    Dec 28, 2021Zeidon Alkinani

    Major changes to the Iraqi political scene are awaiting the formation of a new government following the results of the early parliamentary election that took p…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqProtests and Activism

    Iraq’s Tishreen Protest Movement: The Exceptional Domestic Pressure Tool

    Nov 10, 2021Zeidon Alkinani

    In October 2019, Iraq witnessed its most significant anti-government protests since the US-led invasion and occupation in 2003. The demonstrations blasted the …

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqDemocracy and Governance

    Iraq’s Elections Are Over. Now What?

    Oct 21, 2021Rend Al-Rahim

    Iraq’s fifth parliamentary election since the 2003 US invasion is procedurally over. The polling stations have closed, but the fight over the results has just …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The Erbil Conference: Iraq Rejects Normalizing with Israel

    Oct 12, 2021Abdulwahab Al-Qassab

    On September 24th, some 300 Iraqi tribal and political leaders, mostly from Iraq’s six Sunni-majority governorates, met at a conference in Erbil, capital of th…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Kadhimi Tries to Boost His Domestic Standing

    Sep 1, 2021Imad K. Harb

    As a basic principle, foreign policy serves as an extension of a country’s domestic politics and an instrument wielded by policy-makers to enhance their domest…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    The United States Ends its Combat Role in Iraq

    Apr 26, 2021Gregory Aftandilian

    At the recent meeting of the US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue, negotiators decided to end the combat mission of US troops engaged in the fight against remnants of th…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Iraq’s Complicated and Challenging Security Situation

    Mar 16, 2021Abdulwahab Al-Qassab

    Many of Iraq’s pro-Iran militias were encouraged with Joe Biden’s election as president of the United States and the ensuing Democratic control of both houses …

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqUS Foreign Policy

    Biden and Iraq: A Chance to Address Past Mistakes

    Nov 20, 2020Nabeel A. Khoury

    The Biden Administration is likely to change a few policies in the Middle East while keeping others essentially the same. Iran, long considered an adversary, i…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqDemocracy and Governance

    Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s Iraq: Challenges and Prospects

    Nov 2, 2020Abbas Kadhim

    The Iraqi Council of Representatives voted to confirm Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on May 7, 2020, after two aborted attempts to replace his predecessor, …

  • Policy Analysis
    JordanRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Egypt-Iraq-Jordan Alliance Tries to Change Middle East Dynamics

    Sep 16, 2020Curtis R. Ryan

    On August 25, 2020, the leaders of Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan met in Amman for the third in a succession of meetings marking ever-closer relations between the thr…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqUS Foreign Policy

    US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue: Important Achievements, but Much Remains to Be Done

    Jul 14, 2020Charles W. Dunne

    Charles W. Dunne reports that the first round of the US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue in June made progress on security issues, but many challenges remain for the tw…

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