Authors: Andrés Arauz, Rami Kiwan, Nihal El Aasar, Mohamed El Dahshan, Barik Schuber In 2021, the IMF issued and distributed $650bn worth of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores the unique characteristics of SDRs and provides an overview of the role of SDRs in the MENA region. Using four countries as case studies (Egypt, Iraq, Leban
Read MoreWith the rollout of new controls developed by the US Federal Reserve in collaboration with the Central Bank of Iraq to combat currency smuggling, the dollar exchange rate continued to rise in the Iraqi market, pushing up the prices of food and other essential items. The Central Bank of Iraq has asserted that the rise in the dollar-to-dinar exchange rate is a pass
Read MoreAs global oil prices soar, smugglers are exploiting the lucrative profit margin between Iraq’s subsidized fuel and black-market rates elsewhere. Smugglers move the country’s oil to and through the contested Kurdish region, exacerbating nationwide shortages and depriving the state of much-needed income. These illicit oil flows are also funding Iranian-backed militias, creating b
Read MoreIraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, who was sworn in on October 27, 2022, has nearly completed the first 100 days of his tenure. In this short period, he has shown himself to be an energetic and shrewd politician, balancing his commitments to Iran-friendly forces in Iraq while also maintaining good relations with Arab neighbors and the United States. His political su
Read MoreIntroduction At no time since the founding of the modern nation of Iraq in 1921 hasthe country faced a greater set of deep-seated and intractable challengesto its fragile state–society relations. In June 2014 the Sunni Arab terror-ist network known in English as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)conducted a series of highly coordinated and brazen attacks across part
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