Abstract Iraq’s economy continued its recovery after the sharp, pandemic-induced recession in 2020 but growth constraints in the oil sector have reemerged. After moderating in 2022, consumer price inflation ticked up in early 2023, fueled by the depreciation of the Iraqi dinar in the parallel market. Fiscal and external account balances benefitted from the oi
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POLITICAL STABILITY: Iraq is experiencing an unusual period of relative calm domestically after almost two decades of turmoil, characterised by a notable decrease in political violence and the formation of a comparatively cohesive government led by the prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, in October 2022. With support from a majority of parliamentary factions led by the
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The U.S. has for years been giving Iraq tens of billions of dollars to help with its finances on the specific condition that the country reduces its imports of gas and electricity from Iran eventually to zero. Iran has wielded enormous power over Iraq for a very long time indeed through its various political, economic, and military proxies. Iraq will pay with its own
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The 750-mile Development Road project is primarily devised for trade but could soon take passengers, claims the country's new prime minister Passengers in Baghdad prepare to board a train to Basra, the only passenger rail service currently operational in Iraq CREDIT: NYTNS It sounds like a scene plucked from the pages of an old romance novel: hop on a
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Transitional justice in Iraq is a record of squandered opportunities and compromised institutions. Over five decades, Iraqi society has endured human rights abuses on a wide scale, perpetrated by state and non-state actors. The post 2003 era offered a chance to heal wounds and promote national recovery by adopting policies of transparent judicial accountability, equitable repar
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