Human Rights & Governance

How KRG PM Masrour Barzani’s Privatisation Drive is Transforming Relations with the PUK and Baghdad

Since assuming office in 2019, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani has aggressively pursued privatisation across numerous sectors…

Damascus-SDF Agreement Signals Turkey’s Strategic Compromise: PKK Dissolution in Turkey, SDF Survival in Syria

The newly announced agreement signed today between Ahmad Al-Shara’a, president of the HTS-led administration in Damascus, and Mazloum Abdi, commander…

Four Insights on How Assad’s Remnants Set a Strategic Trap by Exploiting Syria’s Factional Chaos

A few days ago, remnants of the Assad regime ambushed and killed several police officers in Syria’s coastal region, a…

Written by

Arivan

Stadium Politics: How Lahur Sheikh Jangi’s Football Arena Threatens PUK’s Political Control in Kurdistan’s Sulaimani

The political feud between the Talabani cousins in the Kurdistan Region has spilled onto the football pitch as Qubad Talabani, PUK leader and deputy KRG Prime Minister, appears to be…
Read More (3 min. read)

Written by

Arivan

Affordability Gap Widens as Erbil’s 24-Hour Power Comes with 750% Price Hike

The KRG’s ambitious Ronaki Project, designed to deliver uninterrupted electricity to a region long plagued by power shortages, has sparked widespread controversy as residents face monthly bills that frequently exceed…
Read More (3 min. read)

Written by

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…
Read More (3 min. read)

Written by

Arivan

How Time as an Active Temporal Tool Shapes the SDF’s Calculations Against Damascus’s New Government

“Time” has emerged as a critical element in the Syrian Kurdish SDF’s strategic calculations regarding its ongoing dispute with the new Damascus government.  The Syrian Defence Minister recently told Reuters…
Read More (3 min. read)

Written by

Arivan

The Policy Implications of Structural Ambiguities in the 2025 KRG-Baghdad Fiscal Agreement

A newly revealed letter from the Iraqi Finance Ministry to the KRG, verified as authentic by both parties, lays the foundation for the “new agreement” on the timely disbursement of…
Read More (3 min. read)

Written by

Editorial Team

Dueling Between Iraq’s Top Courts Reveals Strategic Divisions in the Pro-Iran Camp

The ongoing power struggle between Iraq’s two highest judicial bodies—the Supreme Judicial Council and the Federal Supreme Court—has reignited over the General Amnesty Law, which was passed by the Iraqi…
Read More (3 min. read)

Written by

Editorial Team

How to Understand the Growing Civil Disobedience and Protests in Sulaimani?

For the past week, a protest camp has been set up in front of the UN office in Sulaimani. The two groups leading this movement, including a hunger strike, have…
Read More (3 min. read)