Analysis

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Analysis

Reactions to "Defending the Qur'an" in the Shiite Street

Dr. Yassin Taha

ong the Shiite reactions to the incident of burning the Qur’an in Sweden, al-Sadr was the most insistent when he threatened that “if the government does not take a stand,” he will act in his own way. Indeed, later supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr raided the Swedish embassy (July 20, 2023), which led to The birth of another crisis for Iraqi diplomacy, while the reactions in Iran and Saudi Arabia, the two largest Islamic poles in the region, were more formal and diplomatic. A statement of condemnation was issued by the Foreign Ministry in Saudi Arabia, as well as in Iran, and the two countries summoned the Swedish ambassador to protest. There is no other Islamic and Arab country where the situation has deteriorated as much as the situation in Iraq.

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Analysis

Youth Perspective - 2023

Ziryan Rojhelati

According to the survey findings, young people in the Kurdistan Region have a significant financial, social, and even safety bond with their families. A remarkable 90% of young people do not want to leave their families, and 52% rely on them for financial support. When faced with difficulties, 66% said they would seek assistance from family and relatives, while just 33% would turn to formal government organizations.

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Analysis

Baghdad and Erbil: A Crucial Agreement for Iraq’s stability

Elodie Vieira

The autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan has many important oil and gas reserves, but the exploitation of these resources has been, for a long time, a source of tensions between Erbil and Baghdad. The new agreement, negotiated under the auspice o the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is considered to be an important step toward the reconciliation in Iraq and could bring a much needed long-term stability to the country.

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Analysis

The American occupation of Iraq in the light of the British "imperial precedent" twenty years later

Myriam Yakoubi

This article aims to review the American occupation of Iraq (2003-2011) in light of the domination that the British had in this country in the aftermath of World War I. This article compares the strategy of the two powers to rebuild the Iraqi state and protect their interests, a process characterized by the same hegemonic aspiration and the same claim to build a state from above in a coercive context.

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Analysis

Triple Homicide in Paris: The Kurds in Quest of Justice and Protection

Laure Marchand

The journalist and author Laure Marchand explains the attack that happened in the head office of France’s Kurdish Democratic Council (CDK-F), exploring the different theories and arguments regarding this case. An enlightening reading for those who are interested in international news. Three months after the crime, the Kurdish community still doesn’t believe it was an isolated racist crime and is still in quest of understanding the outside actors that could’ve influenced the presumed murderer.

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Analysis

Iraqi Contestation: The Quest of a Dream!

Dr. Adel Bakawan

On October 1st 2019, a protest, unprecedented in its nature and its magnitude, shook Iraq. The ruling elite, in a state of generalized panic, adopted a strategy of repression, just as unprecedented, at least since 2003.

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Analysis

Iraq Vision 2050

Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani

On these days, we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the previous dictatorial regime’s fall, full of woes and tragedies, but also full of the hope for liberation from oppression, injustice and the move towards independence and prosperity.

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Analysis

Climate change, internal displacement and humanitarian crises in Iraq

Bertille Domalain

Climate change acts as a multiplier of threats when correlated with other factors related to political instability. Insecurity, lack of economic opportunities, and environmental degradation are among the reasons that drive individuals to leave their native region. The resulting humanitarian crises pose many challenges, particularly when displacements are motivated by climate-related hazards.

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Analysis

Iraq: 20 years after the US occupation?

Dr. Adel Bakawan

Twenty years ago, the United States declared war on Iraq. A war that would turn into a military quagmire and a resounding political failure. Adel Bakawan, director of the French Research Centre on Iraq, looks back at the events that led to the American invasion and its consequences for the Iraqi political system. Since then, the country has been struggling to maintain its territorial, societal and state unity, as demonstrated by the recent elections and the new political alliances.

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Analysis

Daesh: Which outlook for Iraq in 2023?

Virginie Sauner

In a report published on the 9th of February 2023, the UN affirms that the threat of Daesh remains high. According to senior UN officials, the terrorist group continues to exploit the local fragility and the inter-communitarian tensions in the Middle-East and in Africa. Virginie Sauner analyses the Iraqi current perspectives of this global threat who still remains “particularly worrying.”

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Analysis

Identity and Belonging in the Transnational World

Sara A. Karim

The present article addresses the experience of identity and belonging among second- generation Kurdish youths who returned to their ancestral homeland after an upbringing in Western Europe. The youths’ descriptions of self are taken to imply an understanding of themselves as transnational actors; they identified with both their ancestral homeland and the country where they grew up, felt a sense of belonging to both places and engaged in practices across the borders.

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Analysis

Global warming in Iraq, is there a business solution?

Paul-Arthur Luzu

Global warming is a worldwide concern and also a national emergency for the fifth-most vulnerable country to climate breakdown, Iraq. Water shortage, among others, is a source of local and international migration affecting a precarious local balance. General causes of climate change, like natural resources’ exploitation, are boosted by local factors including geopolitics and economics. To address this issue, the government, assisted by various international institutions, has an ambitious agenda whose impact is impeded by the same local or regional specificities. Other solutions, without a holistic approach, could rose from the national and international private sector, especially through the development of tailored-made renewable energies’ projects. To be efficient, these actions could benefit from the coordination and assistance of the Iraqi institutions if only they can provide foreign companies, including Europeans, with a safe frame to develop.

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Analysis

The United States withdrawal from Iraq: what kind of future lies ahead for Baghdad?

Louise-Marie de Busschère

n July 2021, US President Joe Biden announced the definitive withdrawal of US forces from Iraq and the establishment of a new military cooperation between the two countries. While this departure has been made official twice, in 2011 and in 2021, to what extent is it effective and what consequences could it have on the political future of an Iraq torn by sectarian tensions? And can we really talk about a “withdrawal”? Because, on the ground, the United States continues to operate, particularly in the context of the international war on terrorism.