Prepared by Professor Ali A. Allawi Presentation to the US-Europe-Iraq Track II Dialogue Convened by the Atlantic Council and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and supported by DT Institute March 2-4, 2020 in Berlin I Introduction The Theoretical Framework The nexus of administrative structures, organisations, laws, customs, and ideas are at the heart of economic transaction
Read MoreSchools and universities in Iraq will remain closed throughout next week as part of government measures to combat the spread of coronavirus from neighboring Iran. Iraq's five-months-old protest movement which has been demanding overhaul of the political elite also faces a major scale-down following a new government call to stop all kinds of congregations which risk the outbr
Read MoreRecent protests in Iraq have demanded an end to rampant state corruption, the removal of foreign influences from Iraqi politics and the proper provision of public services. State-Society Relations in Iraq The causes of these demands are partially shaped by the myriad militia groups that began to emerge at the end of the Ba’athist era in 2003. They took on greate
Read MoreSince 2003, Iraq has not seen the type of upheaval it witnesses today. Could it lead to genuine political change? In October 2018, when Adel Abdul Mahdi was named prime minister of Iraq, there was widespread optimism both domestically and internationally that the new government he would lead would be able to move the country forward. A little more than a year later, he had t
Read MoreA great deal of media spinning has attempted to portray these demonstrations as an anti-Iranian, anti-resistance revolt A Lebanese protester stands in front of burning tyres on the northern outskirts of Beirut on 13 November (AFP) The wave of protests shaking the world resembles a global uprising against neoliberalism. This could be a sign of the insoluble c
Read More