What’s driving anti-government protests in Iraq?

As anti-government protests in Baghdad and across southern Iraq escalate, Senior Fellow Vanda Felbab-Brown, who was recently in Iraq, provides necessary context for understanding the situation. Felbab-Brown explains the protesters’ demands, the Iraqi government’s response, and the likelihood protests will spread to other regions of the country.

Related material:

Pitfalls of the paramilitary paradigm: The Iraqi state, geopolitics, and Al-Hashd al-Shaabi

Listen to Brookings podcasts here, on Apple or on Google podcasts, send email feedback to [email protected], and follow us at @policypodcasts on Twitter.

Thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Fred Dews, and Camilo Ramirez for their support.

The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Authors

What’s driving anti-government protests in Iraq?

Subscribe to This Week in Foreign Policy

What’s driving anti-government protests in Iraq?

Vanda Felbab-Brown and Vanda Felbab-Brown Director - Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors, Co-Director - Africa Security Initiative, Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology Adrianna Pita Adrianna Pita Office of Communications

Vanda Felbab-Brown and Adrianna Pita