• Policy Analysis
    IraqConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Strategic Implications of Reopening the Baghdad-Amman Highway

    Sep 29, 2017Joe Macaron

    While pivotal for Jordan’s and Iraq’s economies, the recent re-opening of the Amman-Baghdad highway has strategic and security implications for faraway powers …

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqDemocracy and Governance

    The Follies and Pitfalls of the Kurdish Referendum

    The Kurdish referendum is a dangerous play with delicate Kurdish and Iraqi politics to shore up KRG President Masood Barzani’s legitimacy in Iraqi Kurdistan.

  • Washington Policy Weekly
    IraqMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Congressional Update – Week Ending September 15, 2017

    Sep 15, 2017Marcus Montgomery

    The House passes its FY 2018 spending bill and the Senate debates the National Defense Authorization Act; State Department officials travel abroad to talk Iran…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranDemocracy and Governance

    The Popular Mobilization Forces and Iraq’s Next Elections

    Sep 6, 2017Mustafa Gurbuz

    Multiple Shia parties are competing to benefit from the successes of the Popular Mobilization Forces in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq’s 2018 nati…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqSecurity and Defense

    The Realities and Challenges of a New US SOFA with Iraq

    The United States and Iraq are currently negotiating a new Status of Forces Agreement that is contingent upon numerous domestic, regional, and American conditi…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Potential for Intercommunal Violence in Iraq and Syria

    Aug 9, 2017Mustafa Gurbuz

    The legacy of authoritarianism, the rise of sectarian sentiments, ethno-nationalist aspirations, communal grievances about government neglect, and outside inte…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqDemocracy and Governance

    Existential Questions: Iraq Gears up for Elections

    Aug 7, 2017Charles W. Dunne

    Iraqi political forces are beginning to come together, pick fights, ingratiate themselves with potential foreign patrons, and evaluate the mood of the country …

  • Washington Policy Weekly
    IraqConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Congressional Update – Week Ending August 4, 2017

    The Senate finishes legislative business and joins the House for August recess; pro-Israel bills loom large in Congress while Washington discusses the plight o…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Improving Iraq-GCC Relations: No Time Like the Present

    Jul 27, 2017Charles W. Dunne

    Iraq’ reintegration into the Arab world, particularly in terms of improving its relations with its Gulf neighbors, will support its stability as well as ensure…

  • Op-Eds

    Mustafa Gurbuz: An Abrupt Divorce Would Harm All Iraqis, Kurds Included

    Jul 27, 2017

    More pressing than immediate independence, a working parliament and functioning democracy would better serve Kurdish prosperity.Read more

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Day after Mosul’s Liberation

    Crafting a new social and political order after the defeat of ISIL in Mosul, and elsewhere in Iraq, is a responsibility for the Iraqis, their allies, the regio…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Turkey’s Hard Choices in Syria and Iraq

    Jul 19, 2017Mustafa Gurbuz

    Turkey finds itself in a strained position in post-Islamic State Syria and Iraq. It lacks leverage with Russia, the United States, and Iran and fears Kurdish a…