Programs

The Iraq Initiative provides transatlantic and regional policy makers with unique perspectives and analysis on the ongoing challenges and opportunities facing Iraq as the country tries to build an inclusive political system, attract economic investment, and encourage a vibrant civil society.

Top experts

Content

In the News

Apr 29, 2014

Mardini on Iraq’s Parliamentary Elections

By Ramzy Mardini

Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Ramzy Mardini is quoted by CNN on parliamentary elections in Iraq:

Iraq

MENASource

Apr 29, 2014

Why the US Should Continue Funding Democracy and Governance Programs in Iraq

By Beza Tesfaye

While US policymakers shift away from Iraq, recent events threaten to plunge that country into a new civil war. Sectarian conflict has become a source of chronic tragedy: So far this year, terrorist attacks and bombings have killed over 2,000 civilians. As Iraqis head to the polls in the first election to be held since […]

Iraq

In the News

Apr 29, 2014

Mardini: Maliki is “Paranoid and Conspiratorial”

By Ramzy Mardini

Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Ramzy Mardini is quoted by the New York Times on Iraq’s parliamentary elections:

Iraq

In the News

Apr 24, 2014

Slavin: Will Americans Care about Iraq’s Parliamentary Elections?

By Barbara Slavin

South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin writes for Voice of America on Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary elections: 

Iraq

In the News

Apr 23, 2014

Slavin: Iraqi Ambassador Predicts Delay in Government Formation

By Barbara Slavin

South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin writes for Al Monitor on Iraqi Ambassador Lukman Faily’s predictions for next week’s parliamentary elections: 

Iraq

MENASource

Apr 21, 2014

A Crash Course in Iraq’s Electoral Politics

By Adam Simpson

On April 30, Iraq will hold parliamentary elections featuring a total of 9,040 candidates from 142 parties, including forty-one blocs and coalitions, all competing for just 328 parliamentary seats. The result of the 2010 parliamentary elections carried Iyad Allawi’s Iraqiya bloc to a narrow electoral victory, but was eventually defeated by a coalition of majority-Shia […]

Iraq

In the News

Mar 17, 2014

Mardini on Upcoming Iraqi Parliamentary Elections

By Ramzy Mardini

Reuters quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Ramzy Mardini on Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s political campaign: 

Iraq

In the News

Feb 13, 2014

Mardini Talks Iraqi Sectarian Divide

By Ramzy Mardini

Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East Senior Fellow Ramzy Mardini is quoted by the Associated Press on sectarian tension in Iraq:

Iraq
Canadian soldiers in Kabul, Sept. 11, 2011

NATOSource

Feb 6, 2014

After Afghanistan, How Will We Fight the Next Multination War?

By Stephen Saideman, Globe and Mail

As 2014 seems to be the year that we look back and ponder what the Afghanistan war means for the future, the question becomes: what of NATO?

Afghanistan International Security Assistance Force

MENASource

Jan 10, 2014

Anbar Awakening 2.0?

By Ramzy Mardini

The insurgency in Iraq had never truly ended. While its intensity was low for years, the progression of a neighboring insurgency in Syria was bound to spillover into Iraq, most especially Anbar province—the epicenter of the Sunni insurgency in Iraq, which borders Syria.

Iraq

Experts