Realpolitik and disastrous consequences
March 16th, 2015 by MERI
A Kurd could argue that the long hardship and series of disasters inflicted upon the people of Iraq are direct consequences of the complacency and indifference embedded in the foreign policy of the superpowers.
The Importance of the Battle for Tikrit
January 30th, 2019 by MERI
As the much publicised attack on Tikrit is underway, it is important to look at the deeper significance of such an operation. Beyond regaining lost territory, the battle for Tikrit will play a defining role in the coming year for Iraq. As a Symbol The timing of the operation was by design. Forces moved towards […]
The Fight Against Islamic State: Operation Mosul
February 26th, 2015 by MERI
Defeating the Islamic State, in Iraq, must happen in phases. In the first instance, urban areas will have to be regained. Second, the large rural areas of Iraq will have to be brought back under control. Thirdly, local actors will still have to combat a prolonged and difficult insurgency
Farewell to growth in Iraq, until when?
January 19th, 2015 by MERI
The political turmoil in 2014 have put an end to 10 years of robust economic growth in Iraq and the country is bound to recession. Baghdad must undertake structural reforms in order to navigate the new economic scenario ahead.
Good Governance in Kurdistan Region of Iraq – In 2020
November 13th, 2014 by MERI
By 2020, the Kurdistan Region in Iraq will provide a leading example for the practice of good governance for the rest of the Middle East
No Institutional Evolution for Kurdistan’s Economy
October 28th, 2014 by MERI
Kurdistan is in need of solving its economic equation if it wants to develop as a state.
Explaining the Riddle of Turkish Foreign Policy in Syria: Dilemmas, Risks and Limitations
October 20th, 2014 by MERI
The Turkish government will not engage in policies of micromanagement unless convinced that a united and stable Syria will be the end result of it.
The emerging Middle East order: who can shape it and how?
October 16th, 2014 by MERI
The US must show leadership in bringing local stakeholders together, and in dealing with the series of never-ending crises
The Ankara-Erbil strategic relationship; will it survive?
July 24th, 2014 by MERI
The Erbil-Ankara relationship appears to remain firm, but just as Iraq will never be the same again in the wake of Mosul’s fall, nor will this “strategic” relationship.
Revise Iraq to save it
July 23rd, 2014 by MERI
Iraq’s jigsaw puzzle, forced together by the power of empires and ruthless dictators, cannot be governed from a central location without widening its rifts irreversibly.