On April 24, 2023, the Atlantic Council’s Iraq Initiative convened a hybrid panel discussion to examine Iraq’s current economic and energy landscape, and their future trajectory. The panel discussed Iraq’s significant progress in rebuilding its economy and energy sectors that have suffered since the 2003 US invasion of the country, despite facing various challenges such as corr
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The system of government set up after 2003 has run its course. Twenty years ago this month, the rule of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein collapsed, ushering in a new era for Iraq, the Middle East, and the world. The war that toppled him remains contentious among Iraqis and Americans. Yet for many Iraqis who suffered under his brutal dictatorship, it was a moment of salvation fr
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17 March 2023 Shivan Fazil and Dr Alaa Tartir Over the past two decades Iraq has been affected by several waves of intense conflict and violence. The 2003 invasion of Iraq by a multinational coalition led by the United States and United Kingdom toppled the Ba’athist regime of Saddam Hussein. It also ushered in years of chaos and civil war, as a variety of armed groups vie
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Two decades after the US invasion of Iraq, the civil war of the years that followed and the ravages of the Islamic State have faded into the background. Yet the country remains shaken by internal cleavages, torn apart by corruption, and vulnerable to influence operations by external actors. Overcoming economic crisis and infrastructural shortcomings could contribute to greater
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Climate Change Inaction Threatens Iraq’s Social Stability and Long-Term Economic Development Prospects Baghdad, Nov 9, 2022 – Climate change, in particular increasing water scarcity, could further threaten Iraq’s fragile social contract under an oil-led growth model that has been a source of economic volatility. According to the new World Bank Group’s Country Climate and Dev
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