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Enabling Peace in Iraq Center

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Charting a Nationalist and Secular Iraqi State: The Road Ahead

Young people are changing Iraq. But what kind of state do they want? Read the results of our latest national survey of 1,062 eligible Iraqi voters ages 18 – 40 on their views toward religion and a secular state.

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EPIC is a non-profit organization that supports Iraqis working toward a just and peaceful Iraq where all citizens live a safe, free and dignified life. We carry out programs in Iraq, conduct crucial research, and push for change through advocacy.  You can support our work by receiving our newsletter, making a donation, participating in periodic campaigns, and joining our conversation on social media.

EPIC is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that supports Iraqis working toward a just and peaceful Iraq where all citizens live a safe, free and dignified life. We carry out programs in Iraq, conduct crucial research, and push for change through advocacy.  You can support our work by receiving our newsletter, making a donation, participating in periodic campaigns, and joining our conversation on social media.

Happening now

Our civic empowerment project is equipping young leaders in post-ISIS Ninewa Plains with political advocacy skills. Watch along:

Our civic empowerment project is equipping young leaders in post-ISIS Ninewa Plains with political advocacy skills. Watch along:

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What's happening in iraq

ISHM: May 25 – June 1, 2023

Key Takeaways: Draft Budget Changes Raise Strong KRG Objections; Iraq’s Top Court Says Extending The Kurdistan Parliament’s Term Was Unconstitutional – On May 25, the parliamentary finance committee made several last minute amendments to the 2023-2025 federal budget bill. The changes, which require the KRG to compensate public servants for withholdings made during the region’s economic crisis that began in 2015, raised strong objections from the KRG. Regional PM Masrour Barzani accused the finance committee of trying to derail existing agreements with PM Sudani Sudani, which he said were “the foundation” of cooperation between Baghdad and Erbil. Barzani argued that the withholdings should be repaid by the federal government since they were the result of Baghdad’s decision to cut the KRG budget. The finance committee’s changes seem to have the support of the PUK. On May 30, Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court ruled that a vote by the Kurdistan region’s parliament

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Peace & recovery

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Governance & human rights

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climate action & conservation

 

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The Long Game: Iraq’s Tishreen Movement and the Struggle for Reform

The report presents a year of research that includes focus groups with Tishreen and Kurdish activists, a national public opinion survey, social media analysis, and dozens of in-depth interviews.

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News and Features

NOW AVAILABLE IN ARABIC, NEW REPORT EXAMINES HOW YOUNG IRAQIS ARE ENVISIONING POLITICAL CHANGE, A NEW IRAQI STATE, AND THE FUTURE ROLE OF RELIGION

In recent years, many Iraqis have been expressing growing frustration with political dysfunction, corruption, and poor economic conditions, which they largely blame on muhasasa, the ethno-sectarian apportionment of political offices that has characterized politics in Iraq since 2003. This frustration gave rise to popular protest demanding systemic change, most notably in 2019, when the Tishreen (October) revolution saw hundreds of thousands gather at Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, Nasiriyah’s Haboubi Square, and in towns all across southern Iraq.  Based on their slogans and

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#38: Social Media and Iraq’s Protest Movement

Podcast (iraqmatters): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:01:44 — 42.4MB)

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The nonviolent struggle for democratic reforms in Iraq is now well into its fifth month of sustained protests against the government. We talk with Hayder Hamzoz, founder of INSM (Iraqi Network for Social Media), a network of Iraqi bloggers and citizens journalists. Hayder shares his perspective on how the protests work and the critical role that social media activists are playing on both the physical and digital front lines of Iraq’s protest movement.

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Iraq’s Electoral Democracy on the Line: A Call for Extending UNAMI’s Mandate

By Mohammed Khalil, EPIC Country Representative and Project Director On April 19, Judge Jalil Adnan Khalaf, Chairman of Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), reportedly resigned under pressure from influential political factions, raising concerns about the integrity of Iraq’s electoral system. This development, coupled with recent amendments to Iraq’s election law (published here), poses a formidable challenge to the progress made in electoral reforms following the Tishreen protests in October 2019, which aimed for a more democratic and accountable government.

Read More »

NOW AVAILABLE IN ARABIC, NEW REPORT EXAMINES HOW YOUNG IRAQIS ARE ENVISIONING POLITICAL CHANGE, A NEW IRAQI STATE, AND THE FUTURE ROLE OF RELIGION

In recent years, many Iraqis have been expressing growing frustration with political dysfunction, corruption, and poor economic conditions, which they largely blame on muhasasa, the ethno-sectarian apportionment of political offices that has characterized politics in Iraq since 2003. This frustration gave rise to popular protest demanding systemic change, most notably in 2019, when the Tishreen (October) revolution saw hundreds of thousands gather at Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, Nasiriyah’s Haboubi Square, and in towns all across southern Iraq.  Based on their slogans and

Read More »

#38: Social Media and Iraq’s Protest Movement

Podcast (iraqmatters): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:01:44 — 42.4MB)

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | RSS

The nonviolent struggle for democratic reforms in Iraq is now well into its fifth month of sustained protests against the government. We talk with Hayder Hamzoz, founder of INSM (Iraqi Network for Social Media), a network of Iraqi bloggers and citizens journalists. Hayder shares his perspective on how the protests work and the critical role that social media activists are playing on both the physical and digital front lines of Iraq’s protest movement.

Read More »

Iraq’s Electoral Democracy on the Line: A Call for Extending UNAMI’s Mandate

By Mohammed Khalil, EPIC Country Representative and Project Director On April 19, Judge Jalil Adnan Khalaf, Chairman of Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), reportedly resigned under pressure from influential political factions, raising concerns about the integrity of Iraq’s electoral system. This development, coupled with recent amendments to Iraq’s election law (published here), poses a formidable challenge to the progress made in electoral reforms following the Tishreen protests in October 2019, which aimed for a more democratic and accountable government.

Read More »

Taking stock of the first 100 days of Iraq’s new government

Originally published by the Middle East Institute — January 31, 2023 In its first 100 days in office, the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani has already left warning signs about what might lie ahead for the country. Although it is still in its early days, government actions have largely strayed from the promises Sudani made before taking office and resulted in setbacks for Iraq’s economy, security, sovereignty, and human rights. The situation deserves the attention of observers and

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