Women, democracy and dictatorship

The electoral success of Islamic parties in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco, has raised worries about policy and legislation on family and gender issues, this despite re-assuring noises from leading figures. Earlier electoral successes of Islamists in Iraq had brought about a disorderly mix of family policies and rule of disparate religious authorities, accompanied by much [...]

It is land and not just history that binds us

Few Iraqis recognize the organic connection between the mountains of Kurdistan and southern Iraq.  Many say that Iraq is an artificial state created by the british.  I submit to you that geology supersedes humanity.  Before the last Ice Age ended some 11 to 13 thousand years ago, the sea water level was some 450 feet [...]

Institutionalising identities

Many are understandably frustrated with the lack of progress in Iraqi politics over the last few weeks. From principled stands and high rhetoric to endless discussions about the possibility and agenda of a national conference. Some might ask, ‘how can Iraqis accept this from their politicians?’ Well in Iraq there is a massively lacklustre attitude [...]

To Iraqis, institutions are stupid

Ali Al-Saffar touched on a fundamental weakness of the Iraqi state at the moment, the lack of robust and independent institutions. Until they become a reality, the state will limp along vulnerable to political swings and sectarian agendas that have become a familiar fixture. Ali was doing so well until he added the throw away [...]

It’s the institutions, stupid.

One of the most enduring images of the Arab uprisings so far has been that of Muammar al-Qadhafi being assaulted, and eventually murdered, after his capture. The fact that this was done at the hands of people who were portrayed as being pro-democracy activists captured a lot of the debate surrounding the ”Arab Spring”—were the [...]

NGO blues

So we hear that prominent NGO-funders have fallen foul of the Egyptian authorities recently. Staff of the usual suspects in the forms of NDI, IRI have taken refuge at the US embassy in Cairo prior to an eventual exit. Needless to say a confusing political landscape there hasn’t helped,  but it has provoked a thought about [...]

Identity and the Iraqi Budget

So now that Iraqiah is back in parliament, focus has turned to the more important issue of the budget. Most of the discussions seem to be focussing on when it will be passed, but very few are talking about what is actually being passed. I saw a copy of a draft budget that went through [...]

Why the Haditha verdict hurts so much

Even by Iraq’s post-war bloody standards, the Haditha massacre shocked a nation and the world. The cold-blooded killing of 24 civilians by a US army unit epitomised the callous disregard for life that many Iraqis experienced during the years of occupation. This has obviously not registered with either the US justice system nor some cretinous commentators. So for [...]

There is no panacea for Iraq’s problems

Thank God for Leslie Gelb, who after an entire three hours back in 2006 found the panacea that would solve Iraq’s problems; federalism. In an article by Gelb published a couple of weeks ago, he suggests that because “Shiites, Sunni and Kurds have been at  each other’s throats for centuries”, federalism that “provides ethno-religious groups [...]

Visiting Erbil

Over the last year, I’ve followed many different Kurds on twitter. They all have different styles, tweet about different things; some were good, some not so much. But one thing that united many of them was a Kurdistan-first attitude. A few in particular would constantly go on about how great Kurdistan was. So on one [...]