Given the politically motivated violence that has dominated the country since its creation in 1920 and especially since regime change in 2003, the survival of Iraq in its current form is open to question. Through organising three research-focused workshops, this project examines the existing institutional structures currently used to govern Iraq and test their sustainability going forward. It then explores possible alternatives to the status quo.
At present, there are two competing governance models in Iraq, one the federal decentralisation personified by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), secondly the centralised model dominating the rest of Iraq. Limited judicial progress has been made to develop a third model for governing the non-Kurdish areas of Iraq, focused on provincial decentralisation. Using three workshops each focusing on a different area of Iraq, broadly the south, centre and north of the country (Basra, Baghdad and Erbil), this project surveys the current governing structures in place, the local and regional politics and state–society relations.
Workshops
In the first workshop of the series organised on 15 January 2018, the Centre brought together Iraqi political analysts and decision-makers with other experts on Iraq. The workshop examined the major dynamics that will shape Iraqi politics following Mosul and Kirkuk and drive the relationship between Baghdad and other regions of Iraq, as well as between state and society. A report, video and blog series were published following the workshop.
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Despite huge Iraqi, regional and international opposition, Masoud Barzani, the President of the KRI, went ahead with an independence referendum on 25 September 2017. The results showed an overwhelming endorsement of a split from Baghdad. However, the referendum did not deliver the enhanced bargaining power that the President was hoping for in negotiating independence. In the second workshop organised on 16 March 2018, participants examined the major dynamics that will shape Iraqi–Kurdish politics going forward.
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Children buy food at a market stall in Mosul © European Union 2017 (Peter Biro, Flickr)