Iraq

Demonstrators gather at a protest during a curfew, two days after the nationwide anti-government protests turned violent, in Baghdad, Iraq October 3, 2019. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RC1AEB580EE0

Iraq

What’s driving anti-government protests in Iraq?

Vanda Felbab-Brown and Adrianna Pita

Monday, October 7, 2019

A general view of Firdos Square, one of the main squares of Baghdad April 29, 2014. Iraq is now gripped by its worst violence since the heights of its 2005-2008 sectarian war, and Sunni Islamist insurgents who target Shi'ites have been regaining ground in the country over the past year. But despite the instability, daily life continues in poor Shi'ite neighbourhoods of Baghdad such as Al-Fdhiliya and Sadr City - a sprawling slum marred by poor infrastructure and overcrowding. Reuters photographer Ahmed Jadallah spent time documenting the community and their daily life. Picture taken April 29, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST SOCIETY POLITICS)ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 01 OF 32 FOR PACKAGE 'SOCCER, SALONS AND SWIMMING IN SADR CITY'. TO FIND ALL IMAGES SEARCH 'SADR JADALLAH' - GM1EA5T16KX01

Future Development

Getting reconstruction right and wrong: Lessons from Iraq

Hideki Matsunaga

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

The 'Tribute in Light' memorial, consisting of two shafts of light torepresent the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, shines in New York City, inthis photo made from Bayonne, New Jersey, September 11, 2003. The lightingmarks the second anniversary of the attacks on the center. REUTERS/RayStubblebine PP03090055RFS - RP4DRIFRWDAA

Terrorism & Extremism

It’s hard to commemorate 9/11 if you don’t understand it

Daniel L. Byman

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

The counter-ISIS coalition: Diplomacy and security in action

2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EDT

Reports

Shi'ite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) are seen in Zumar, Nineveh province, Iraq October 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RC1E698CF530

Iraq

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

Vanda Felbab-Brown

June 2019

REFILE - CORRECTING PUNCTUATION Displaced Iraqi residents carry biscuits and bottles of water as they walk past other residents waiting for the food distribution of an aid organization during the first day of Eid al-Fitr celebration in West Mosul, Iraq June 25, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC19775F43A0

Report

Do social protection programs improve life satisfaction?

Talajeh Livani and Carol Graham

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

A member of the Iraqi security forces stands guard as Ameen Mukdad, a violinist from Mosul who lived under ISIS's rule for two and a half years where they destroyed his musical instruments, performs at Nabi Yunus shrine in eastern Mosul, Iraq, April 19, 2017. REUTERS/ Muhammad Hamed - RC167F7F0AE0

Report

Sectarianism, governance, and Iraq’s future

Monday, November 26, 2018

Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces members guard near the building belonging to a Popular Mobilization Forces in Basra, Iraq September 8, 2018. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani

Report

Containment and engagement: The rise of armed non-state actors

Thursday, October 4, 2018

Iraqi forces are seen after they captured Rawa town, the last remaining town under Islamic State control, Iraq November 17, 2017.

Report

Fragility and resilience in Iraq

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Blog Posts

A Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) fighter rides in a military vehicle at the Iraqi-Syrian border near al-Qaim, Iraq, November 26, 2018. Picture taken November 26, 2018. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani - RC13847779F0

Order from Chaos

How US-Iran tensions could disrupt Iraq’s fragile peace

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Iraqi soldiers stand guard near an election poster featuring pictures of Shi'ite leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani (L), and slain clerics Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim (C) and Ayatollah Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr in the holy city of Najaf December 6, 2005. Iraqis will go to the polls December 15 to elect their first full, four-year parliament since the fall of Saddam Hussein. REUTERS/Ali Abu Shish - RP2DSFIILWAB

Order from Chaos

Iraq’s failed uprising after the 1979 Iranian revolution

Monday, March 11, 2019

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein addresses the eigth anniversary of the Great Victory Day August 8. In his address marking the ceasefire in the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war, Saddam rejected Western government accusations that he had spent a fortune on building palaces for himself while his people enjured poverty. He made no mention of his country's oil-for-food deal with the U.N. whose implementation the U.S. approved on Wednesday. - PBEAHUMWIBM

Order from Chaos

What Iran’s revolution meant for Iraq

Thursday, January 24, 2019

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Events

The impact of militias on governance and geopolitics in the Middle East and North Africa

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM EDT

The limits of punishment: Transitional justice and violent extremism

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM EDT

Middle East crises and conflicts – the way ahead

1:00 PM - 2:30 PM EDT

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Related Books

road warriors

Road Warriors: Foreign Fighters in the Armies of Jihad

By Daniel L. Byman

2019

Becoming Enemies: U.S.-Iran Relations and the Iran-Iraq War, 1979–1988

By Bruce Riedel

2012

The Lingering Conflict

By Itamar Rabinovich

2011

Experts

Women eat watermelons at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California April 10, 2015. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson - GF10000055583

Up Front

Are the kids alright? Saving and wealth accumulation among the millennial generation

William G. Gale

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Mar 17, 2019; Nashville, TN, USA; A member of the Bridgestone Arena crew sweeps confetti off the court after a win by the Auburn Tigers over the Tennessee Volunteers in the SEC conference tournament championship game at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports - 12368716

Up Front

College sports joins the marketplace, with limits

Robert E. Litan

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Ranj Alaaldin

Visiting Fellow - Brookings Doha Center

View All Experts

Multimedia

Photo from the event: "The limits of punishment: Transitional justice and violent extremism"

Order from Chaos

Terrorists next door? Experts discuss how to respond when communities are overtaken by terrorist groups

Bradley S. Porter

Thursday, October 25, 2018

A member of the federal police forces puts up an Iraqi flag at a position during a battle with Islamic State militants in south of Mosul

Podcast Episode

On Mosul and the war on ISIS

Thursday, February 23, 2017

intersections_civilwars001_16x9

Podcast Episode

Civil wars and U.S. engagement in the Middle East

Shadi Hamid, Adrianna Pita, and Kenneth M Pollack

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

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