On Thursday, October 23, at 10:30 a.m., the Atlantic Council’s Iraq Initiative will host an event examining the legacy of the Iraqi constitution and its impact on Iraq’s democracy.  

Nearly twenty years after its ratification, the 2005 constitution continues to shape, yet also constrain, Iraq’s governance and democratic development, as well as the conception of Iraqi identity. Rather than facilitating inclusive governance and state-building, critics contend it has contributed to institutional paralysis and complicated and ambiguous power sharing, as well as reinforced sectarian fragmentation.

This event will critically assess how Iraq’s constitutional framework has contributed to or inhibited Iraq’s democratic development. It will examine the complicated relationship between religion and the state, the nature of federalism in Iraq—including the relationship between the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government—and whether Iraq’s democratic institutions are functioning as intended.   

This event will be streamed live on Atlantic Council TV, YouTube, Facebook, and X.

Please complete the form below to register for this event.

Opening remarks

Victoria J. Taylor
Director of the Iraq Initiative, Middle East Programs
Atlantic Council

Speakers

Zaid Al-Ali
Visiting Fellow
Princeton University

Marsin Alshamary
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Boston College

Abbas Anbori
Founder and President
Baghdad Rewaq Centre for Public Policy

Hemin Hawrami
Former Deputy Speaker of the Kurdistan Parliament
Kurdistan Regional Government

Moderated by

Safwan Al-Amin
Partner
Holland and Knight

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The Iraq Initiative is driving policy-oriented programs and analysis that advance Iraq’s stability and sovereignty, regional integration, and democratic and economic development. It also aims to promote a strengthened US-Iraq partnership.

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