Iraq: New leadership, but same old politics

Successive governments in Iraq have expressed their commitment to stamping out rampant corruption in the country over the past 20 years, but without much success.

The administration of Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Sudani – which took office in October 2022 – is not expected to be different. Baghdad's ability to tackle corruption is being hampered by obstruction from political parties and their linked militia groups, many of which benefit from the graft.

Foreign partners lose patience over Iraq's Peshmerga reforms delays

Issue 1176 - 15 September 2023

A plan to reform the Peshmerga militia in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is in deep trouble due to the inability of the region's two main parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), to work together.

Iraq: New leadership, but same old politics

Foreign partners lose patience over Iraq's Peshmerga reforms delays

Tensions spill over in Iraq's Kirkuk as rivals vie for influence and property ahead of local election

Turkish relations to the fore as Iraqi Kurdistan government runs out of oil money

Halabja inches towards becoming Iraq's 19th governorate

Iraq: Kirkuk's ethnic divisions close to the surface as provincial elections loom

Iraq heads down a potentially reckless fiscal path

Prospects for progress wither as rival parties fight for influence in Iraqi Kurdistan

Iraq's Kurdish parties differ over thorny question of minority seats

Peshmerga reforms fall victim to Iraq's Kurdistan party rivalries

Iraqi administrations reach deal on oil, after arbitration ruling halts exports to Turkey

Iraq's oil-rich Basra grows in prominence

Same old story as Sudani struggles to tackle Iraq's entrenched corruption

Iraqi PM replaces head of central bank

Iraq: Sudani pursues anti-graft drive as IMF calls for prudent policies

Iraq: Cabinet list, 27 October 2022

Iraq: Sudani’s coalition of mixed abilities

Muted expectations as Sudani takes over in Baghdad, backed by militias and Iran

Revised map illustrates oil and gas infrastructure in the Kurdistan region of Iraq

Kurdistan Region of Iraq – January 2022

Iraq country map – revised January 2022

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