Last February, Turkish pro-government sources proudly boasted that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu pledged the most money in the region towards Iraqi reconstruction while attending an international donors conference in Kuwait City. The three-day event brought together civil society representatives, high-level government officials, and NGOs. A total of $30 billion o
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Campaigning began on Saturday ahead of the Iraqi parliamentary elections, which will be held on May 12. Some 7,000 candidates have registered to stand and will compete for 329 parliamentary seats. But how will the elections affect Iraq’s relations with its Arab neighbors? For the first time since the rise of Daesh, Iraqis across the country will be able to cast their votes a
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By providing a clear and consistent roadmap for American interests in Iraq and future international support, Washington can help Baghdad steer the country in the right direction after next month's elections. On May 12, Iraqis go to the polls to choose their next parliament, after which officials will negotiate to appoint a prime minister and form a government. The country has
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As Baghdad prepares to send large back payments to Tehran, any misappropriation could threaten the flow of electricity to Iraq and bolster sanctioned entities in Iran. Iraq and Iran's close trading ties are heavily unbalanced in Tehran's favor—$6.5 billion of Iranian exports to Iraq versus $60 million in the other direction. This disparity extends to electricity, where Iran
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Samuel Helfont draws on extensive research with Ba'thist archives to investigate the roots of the religious insurgencies that erupted in Iraq following the American-led invasion in 2003. In looking at Saddam Hussein's policies in the 1990s, many have interpreted his support for state-sponsored religion as evidence of a dramatic shift away from Arab nationalism toward politica
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