This report primarily concentrates on the oil sector in ‘federal’ Iraq, i.e. that outside the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). It can be read in conjunction with my earlier study for the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES) of...
For several years now, the Middle East, and particularly Iraq, has been suffering from a dire water crisis, compounded by the decrease in water quantities from rivers flowing from upstream to downstream countries. Iraq has been severely affected by...
By Zuhair Jum’a Al-Maliki
When the Chinese Admiral Zheng He launched his expeditionary fleet of 62 ships in the fifteenth century AD, he could not have imagined that the seven trips he undertook would provide the inspiration for a new...
Each electoral cycle, thousands of people in Iraq, including those with little chance of winning, announce their candidacy to run in the elections. 9043 candidates competed for 328 seats in the previous parliamentary election of 2014, which represents about...
Al Quds or Jerusalem is a city that captivates you with its beauteous majesty, splendour, and heritage. It has a special place in the hearts of Muslims; its land is holy, and blessed in texts of the Holy Quran....
Those who follow closely Saudi and Turkish media these days will witness an intense “undeclared” war of words between the two countries, triggered initially by the change in Turkey's policy of hostility towards Russia in the aftermath of the...
The electoral system of provincial councils is based on proportional system, which enables many parties to win seats in proportion to their vote share, leading to politically unstable councils. Furthermore, each province is one electoral district, which weakens the...
Iraq began importing gas from Iran in late June 2017 from the oil refinery at Shahr. Iraq has so far - as the most recent buyer of Iranian gas – imported 1.2 billion cubic meters of gas through Iran’s...
The electoral system in Iraq has become a controversial issue that has driven demonstrators to call for major reforms to the electoral commission and the electoral law. Last month, parliament approved the new commissioners of the Independent High Electoral...
The Middle East region has faced monumental challenges in recent times. It all started with the political upheavals in Iraq in 2003, affecting as it did the various economic, political and security spheres, and which some observers believe gradually...
