Baghdad Drops Disarmament for Reorganisation as Iran Opens Hormuz to Iraqi Crude
Iraq’s oil exports have risen sharply over the past month even though the Strait of Hormuz remains heavily restricted. Exports…
The PKK Is Rebuilding Its Media as a Civilian Political Network
The PKK-aligned movement has spent the past eighteen months restructuring its media network around audiences and languages rather than around…
Damascus Moves From Nominal to Physical Security Control in Hasakah
New on the SDF-Damascus integration agreement: Yesterday and today, a sizable number of Damascus-linked Syrian Interior and Defence Ministry personnel…
Written by
Arivan
Why PJAK Remains Armed While the PKK’s Other Fronts Close
On 25 August, Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, announced from the People’s Palace in Damascus that the SDF had ended its mission and dissolved as an independent…
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Written by
Arivan
Why Syria’s Political Geography Looks Nothing Like Iraq’s
Comparisons between Syria and Iraq usually start from a shared premise: that both are weak states trying to govern populations divided among large ethnic and religious communities. The demographic and…
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Written by
Arivan
SDF Dissolution and the Final Integration Deal: What Damascus Gained and What Remains Unclear
On the latest SDF-Damascus integration agreement:
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Written by
Arivan
Why Was KRG PM Masrour Barzani’s Office Targeted?
The attack on Masrour Barzani’s office on August 17th and a resting house belonging to one of the KDP’s key intelligence officials was likely connected to the ongoing Iraqi-Iranian negotiations…
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Written by
Arivan
Turkey Nears Certifying the PKK Dissolved as PJAK Expands Along the Iranian Frontier
Turkey’s parliament passed the Law called ‘Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration’ in early August, the framework governing the return and legal reintegration of PKK members. However, for the law…
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Written by
Arivan
The Kurdistan Region’s Emerging Strategic Geography
The Kurdistan Region’s energy and industrial map shows an emerging strategic geography in which the KDP and PUK, the two ruling parties that already run separate administrative systems inside one…
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Written by
Arivan
Iraq’s Weapons Deadline: What Is Actually Being Negotiated Before 30 September
The argument over Iraq’s armed factions is an argument inside the Shia political establishment about how to protect what it has held since 2003. One camp has concluded that state…
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