What Kurdish Flags Reveal About Newroz Celebrations in Syria
For the first time in decades, Kurds were permitted to celebrate Newroz publicly throughout much of Syria, including Damascus. While…
Two Years After the Pipeline Shutdown: Where Do KRG’s Oil Exports Stand?
On the morning of March 25, 2023, Turkey halted oil exports from the Kurdistan Region to the Ceyhan port, following…
Who Gets What in the Next KRG Cabinet? Inside the Stalled KDP–PUK Talks
More than six months have passed since the Kurdistan parliamentary elections, yet the formation of the next Kurdistan Regional Government…
Written by
Arivan
Shiite Factions Clash Over PMF Legislation Amid U.S. Pressure and Iraq’s Election Year
In an election year marked by mounting pressure from the new Trump administration, internal rifts among Iraq’s Shiite factions over legislation governing the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) have escalated. Ostensibly,…
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Arivan
What Does the Barzani–Waltz Call Reveal About US Strategy on KRG Oil?
Masrour Barzani with Mike Waltz and three other members of the U.S. Congress, March 2024.
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Arivan
Peace with PKK, Crackdown on CHP: The AKP-MHP Strategy to Rule Past 2028
Yesterday’s arrest of the popular opposition Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu appears contradictory when viewed through the lens of recent peace talks with the PKK and its leader Öcalan—talks that emphasize…
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Arivan
KRG-Iraq Budget Dispute: A Battle of Interpretations
One of the most interesting issues in the ongoing Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)-Iraqi central government budget conflict is not merely the disagreement over financial figures, but the competing interpretations of…
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Written by
Arivan
How Baghdad’s Customs Checkpoints Have Diminished KRG’s Trade Power
Six months into Baghdad’s customs centralization policy with the Kurdistan Region, traders are increasingly relocating their operations to Iraqi-controlled territories—a deliberate outcome aimed at reshaping regional trade dynamics. From the…
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Written by
Arivan
Kurdistan’s Widening Income Gap: Expenditures Outstrip Earnings
The Iraqi national census and socio-economic surveys published by the Iraqi Ministry of Planning, in coordination with the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Planning, have been released separately and…
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Written by
Arivan
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 in the Kurdistan Region, including healthcare, electricity, customs, postal services,…
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