This event will be a panel discussion exploring the future of power-sharing in Iraq with Iraqi researchers both within Iraq and in the diaspora.

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of Iraq’s new constitution, a milestone that coincides with a significant generational shift—nearly 50% of the population has been born since this transformative period. These demographic changes have brought new perspectives, challenges, and opportunities to the forefront of political discourse.

As part of the PeaceRep Iraq Programme at LSE Middle East Centre, this event will bring together Iraqi researchers to examine how younger generations perceive the power-sharing system in Iraq. The discussion will address the Iraqi political system's effectiveness in meeting societal needs and explore the aspirations of a new generation poised to shape Iraq’s political and social future.

Meet our speakers and chair

Oula Kadhum is a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow at SOAS. Her research has included projects exploring the political and religious transnationalism of Iraq’s diasporic migrant communities in Europe, focussing on the ways transnationalism was used to support or challenge states, political actors, civil society and social movements as well as its effect on identity politics, religion, and nationalism in both the homeland and hostland. 

Khogir Mohammed is a Researcher at the Middle East Research Institute (MERI). Khogir began his career with ACDI/VOCA, an international NGO, focusing on community development. He assisted with the implementation of a project enhancing the capacity of local government and communities to improve social services. He has previously worked for the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) where his main focus was improving communication and coordination amongst a considerable number of directorates of Kirkuk in order to confront emergency situations. While at the DRC, he worked on the issue of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) fleeing to Kirkuk due to security problems elsewhere in Iraq. Khogir has written numerous articles for MERI on the political and social situation of ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq.

Muhanad Seloom is an Assistant Professor of Security and Intelligence Studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies and researcher at the Strategic Studies Unit in the Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS). He is also an Honorary Research Fellow at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter. His research focuses on state and non-state armed actors, national security, and intelligence studies. He is currently working on a research project titled, Covert Currents of the Cradle: A History of Iraq's Intelligence.

Kamaran Palani is the Principal Investigator of the PeaceRep Iraq programme at the LSE Middle East Centre. Kamaran also conducts research on the drivers of conflict and state fragmentation in Iraq. His research broadly focuses on de facto statehood, power-sharing, and dynamics of peace and conflict, with a specific focus on Iraq. Kamaran's work also explores a range of interconnected themes, including the prevention of violent extremism, internal displacement, the roles of youth and civil society, educational initiatives, and the situation of ethno-religious minorities in Iraq. He is author of the book Kurdistan’s De Facto Statehood: A New Explanatory Framework (Routledge, 2022).