Iraq’s various security forces were united in defeating IS. With their common enemy defeated, unity seems to have vanished rapidly. Implications & Recommendations are presented in this policy brief.

Iraq reconstruction costs $88B. Donors pledged $30B, but little has so far materialised, because the Iraqi government has failed to address its structural and functional weaknesses. The onus is on the Iraqi leaders.

Turkey and EU have adopted multifaceted foreign policies in the Middle East. They converge only on specific issues but their mutual cooperation has not been easy.

After 4 years of political & security turbulence, Iraq has now turned a new page with plenty of cautious optimism for 2019. Evolution of events & predictions for the new year.

By failing to reach an agreement to form an electoral alliance, the Kurdistan Region’s opposition parties missed a golden opportunity to shake up the duopoly of the KDP and PUK’s power.

In the run-up to this month’s parliamentary elections (12 May), the Kurdish parties are running individually, but in the Iraqi-controlled disputed territories they act differently.

“We can’t call Iraq a federal state when there is only one federal region”. Baghdad needs to develope a national reconciliation strategy among the country’s various ethno-religious & social groups, through dialogue and trust-building. 

Given the institutionalized nature of corruption in Iraq, fighting it will prove substantially difficult, and would require a national program that upsets major aspects of Iraqi politics.

The recent Iraq-Saudi Arabia rapprochement policy should be understood in the context of convergent political, security, and economic interests, with implications for regional security and stability.

The Kurdistan referendum has opened the way for Baghdad and Erbil to prioritise serious negotiations.