The Struggle for Iraq’s Future
How Corruption, Incompetence and Sectarianism Have Undermined Democracy
Since the withdrawal of US occupying forces, international attention has shifted away from Iraq - but life for Iraqis has become no easier. Deadly bombings are still all too common, sectarian violence has soared and all-pervading corruption means that massive inflows of aid and oil income have made very little difference to crucial issues like security, healthcare and power availability. Now, Iraqi lawyer Zaid al-Ali sets out why and how the post-occupation Iraqi government has failed to achieve legitimacy or improve its citizens' lives. He argues that the ill-planned US intervention destroyed the Iraqi state, creating a black hole which corrupt and incompetent members of the elite have now made their own.
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ARTICLE: The state’s reduced role in post-2003 Iraq
March 20, 2024
THE NATIONAL: Something new and different is happening in Iraq that most international commentators with an interest in the country appear to be missing. Society is now, for the most part, out of the state’s control and is charting its own destiny, in …
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COMMENTARY: Iraq v Turkey Final Award (February 2023)
May 24, 2023
1001 IRAQI THOUGHTS: On 23 May 2014, the Republic of Iraq (“Iraq”) commenced arbitral proceedings against the Republic of Turkey (“Turkey”). Those proceedings were commenced pursuant to an allegation that Turkey was in violation of the terms of an agre …
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ARTICLE: 20 years of failed oil and gas policies lead to new opportunities in Iraq
April 29, 2023
1001 Iraqi Thoughts: Back in 2003, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) adopted an independent oil policy that was based on weak foundations and self-serving foreign advice. 20 years later, that policy now appears to be unravelling. The balance of f …
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ARTICLE: The Baghdad-Kurdistan deal to resume oil exports is promising but incomplete
April 15, 2023
THE NATIONAL: Iraq’s federal system, and its oil and gas sector, have been beset by tensions and failed policies on all sides for the past 20 years. Those failures have caused significant financial losses and unnecessary suffering. Recently, that dynam …
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ARTICLE: Flawed by design: Ethno-sectarian power-sharing and Iraq’s constitutional development
April 15, 2023
CHATHAM HOUSE: Iraq’s current form of governance – based on ethno-sectarian power-sharing – began to take shape in 2003, under inauspicious circumstances. The establishment of a new, post-invasion political system was subordinated to the interests of t …
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ARTICLE: Can a new government solve the protests in Iraq?
September 27, 2018
THE WASHINGTON POST: Summer protests have become a yearly ritual for Iraq, but the past few weeks were particularly intense. In Basra, young people came out in the thousands to protest declining standards of living. Protesters set government buildings, …
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