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Rethinking Poverty Rates in Kurdistan: Why Standardized Measures Misrepresent True Poverty Levels
The Kurdistan Region has released a specialized survey on social conditions, conducted alongside a broader socioeconomic assessment spanning Iraq. This regional effort sheds light on a critical flaw in how…
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Arivan
PUK’s Talabanis Face Backlash Over Sudden U-Turn on KRG Salary Domiciliation Policy
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the junior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), is facing intense scrutiny and backlash after a dramatic reversal on its stance regarding salary…
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Arivan
Why Does Barzani Provide Sanctuary to Ba’athists in Erbil?
Recently, a series of controversies have emerged surrounding the presence of Ba’athist figures in Erbil and Masoud Barzani’s role in granting them sanctuary. Iraqi politician Ayad Allawi, one of Barzani’s…
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Arivan
USAID’s 2024 Iraq Spending Reveals 65% Went to ‘Consulting’ While Programs Face Uncertainty
According to U.S. Foreign Assistance data, American agencies provided $180.4 million in total support to Iraqi organizations and institutions in 2024, with USAID contributing $151.4 million, representing 84% of total…
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Arivan
How the February 17, 2011 Protests Transformed Kurdistan’s Political Culture
As Kurdistan commemorates the fourteenth anniversary of the February 17, 2011, protests in Sulaimani, the movement’s reverberations continue to echo through the region’s political consciousness. These demonstrations, catalyzed by the…
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Arivan
Iraq’s Treasury in Crisis: A Deepening Deficit and Shrinking Reserves
A document from Iraq’s Ministry of Finance, signed by Finance Minister Taif Sami and addressed to the Prime Minister’s Office on February 9, 2025, highlights a significant deficit in the…
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Arivan
Power Struggle Over Iraq’s PMF Leadership: Retirement Law Deepens Shiite Divisions
The impending retirements of Abu Fadak al-Muhammadawi, Chief of Staff of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), and Abu Zainab al-Lami, head of the PMF Security Agency, have ignited discord within…
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Arivan
The Divided Syrian Kurdish Landscape Explained: ENKS vs. Kurdish National Unity
The Syrian Kurdish political landscape is divided into two main camps. One is the Kurdish National Unity coalition, a broad alliance that includes pro-PKK factions, independent center-left groups, and Kurdish…
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Arivan
How Diplomatic Engagement Shapes Political Recognition: Kurdistan Region and Iraq at Munich Security Conference
One of the key roles of comparison in the social sciences is to provide perspective: a striking example of this can be seen in the contrasting engagements of Iraqi Prime…
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Arivan
A Bold Theory: Do the PKK-Turkey Talks Signal Regional Realignment Amid the Disruption in the Balance of Power?
In October 2024, two months before the Assad regime’s collapse in Syria, Turkish ultra-nationalist leader Devlet Bahçeli shocked political observers by shaking hands with members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality…
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