The Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), also known as Iraqi Kurdistan, is a semi-autonomous region in northeastern Iraq with a population of approximately 6.5 million. The KRI’s contemporary politics are rooted in a century of Kurdish efforts to achieve self-rule.
Brian is joined by Amb. (ret.) Yael Lempert, Vice President for Outreach at MEI, to discuss her career in diplomacy and the importance of US diplomatic efforts abroad. She shares stories from postings across the Middle East in Baghdad, Cairo, Tripoli, Jerusalem, and Amman and examines how her personal and professional experiences shaped her approach to the work. Together, Brian and Yael discuss the realities of life in the Foreign Service, the core tenets of American diplomacy, and why it matters in today’s Middle East.
It has become a commonplace for Americans to describe our current war with Iran as stuck in a kind of limbo, neither full war nor real peace. We’re not the only ones. Iraq finds itself caught in a limbo of its own, between America and Iran, between the tolerable and the intolerable, between progress and relapse.
This week’s briefing on recent news and upcoming events in the region featuring Marvin G. Weinbaum, Grace Wermenbol, Jason Pack, Shahla Al-Kli, and Khaldoun Khelil.
This week’s briefing on recent news and upcoming events in the region featuring Charles Lister, Randa Slim, Jonathan M. Winer, Alex Vatanka, Marvin G. Weinbaum, Robert S. Ford, Mirette F. Mabrouk, and Syed Mohammad Ali.
في 21 من شهر أغسطس الجاري تم الاتفاق على وقف إطلاق النار في ليبيا من قبل رئيس المجلس الرئاسي فايز السراج، ورئيس مجلس النواب في شرق ليبيا، عقيلة صالح.
كان من المفترض أن يكون الاتفاق خطوة ملموسة لوقف الصراع العسكري الذي تصاعدت حدته في 4 أبريل 2019، عندما بدأ الدكتاتور الليبي المحتمل خليفة حفتر، حملة عسكرية لغزو طرابلس التي كانت تعد بمثابة العاصمة الوطنية للبلاد.
تم دعم الاتفاق على الفور من قبل الأمم المتحدة، والولايات المتحدة، وبعض الأطراف الأجنبية التي تدعم كل جانب على حدة.
This week’s briefing on recent news and upcoming events in the region featuring Robert S. Ford, Paul Salem, Yesar Al-Maleki, and Marvin G. Weinbaum.
نجحت حكومة رئيس الوزراء العراقي مصطفى الكاظمي بحذر في اجتياز اختبارها الذي دام 100 يوم، وهو تقليد عمره عشر سنوات للقادة العراقيين، إذ يُتوقع منهم تحسين الخدمات في إطار زمني قصير للغاية.
فقد تم دفع الكاظمي إلى القيادة في أعقاب ما أصبح فعليًا أول انتفاضة شعبية كبيرة في العراق بعد التحول الديمقراطي عام 2003، وهي الانتفاضة التي أطاحت بسلفه عادل عبد المهدي.
The United States’ primary focus on maintaining stability in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) has been detrimental to the region. Channeling military aid to partisan militias has entrenched the duopoly rule of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) while preventing meaningful democratic reforms that could bring long-term stability.
Iraq’s long-running electricity dilemma is now a daily source of public misery. The struggle of the power generation and distribution system to keep up with relentless demand caused by almost free electricity, especially as temperatures soar to record levels of over 120 degrees, is likely to get worse without reforms.
This week’s briefing on recent news and upcoming events in the region featuring Paul Salem, Hafsa Halawa, Marvin G. Weinbaum, Anne-Linda Amira Augustin, and Gerald Feierstein.
“على المستوى السياسي، قد تشكل الانتخابات المبكرة خطرا على الحركة الاحتجاجية”
يوم الجمعة الماضي، وسط تجدد الاحتجاجات والغضب من استمرار العنف الممارس من جانب قوات الأمن، أعلن رئيس الوزراء مصطفى الكاظمي عن موعد لإجراء انتخابات برلمانية جديدة في العراق في 6 يونيو 2021.
وقد خلف الإعلان ردود فعل متباينة كما كان متوقعا. فقد جادلت جهات سياسية فاعلة بأن الإعلان يعتبر غير دستوري ويتطلب موافقة البرلمان لتحديد موعد انتخابات جديدة (وضمنيا حل البرلمان الحالي)، بينما اتسم رد فعل المتظاهرين بتفاؤل حذر.
The nationwide protests that erupted in October 2019 shifted the political landscape and paradigm of Iraqi political participation: Led by motivated Iraqi youth in their teens and twenties with no previous civic experience, they signal a rejection of the post-2003 sectarian patronage system, known as muhassasa, that has failed to deliver security, economic development, or basic services. The protest movement’s spontaneity and authenticity are its core strength; no public figure or party directed the waves of protests across central and southern Iraq.
Late on June 25, the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service carried out an operation against Kataib Hezbollah, a powerful Iran-backed militia, in the suburbs of Baghdad, detaining militiamen, confiscating mobile Katyusha rocket launchers, and accusing the group of plotting another round of rocket attacks targeting the Green Zone and Baghdad International Airport.
It is in Syria where ISIS’s future appears most secure, and its insurgency has demonstrated particular strength in territory controlled by the regime.
Is Iraqi society structurally sectarian? Or does it have a strong capacity of resilience to sectarian trends? This article explores the nature of Iraq’s political sociology by examining several key indicators: the composition and aspirations of Iraqi society; the nature of the parliament; and the challenges that current Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi faced as he tried to form a government in spring 2020.
The oldest peer-reviewed publication dedicated to the study of the modern Middle East, MEI’s flagship journal covers politics, society, and culture in the region.
