Category: Reports

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Reports

Why the secular project failed in Iraq: A critical re-assessment  

This article traces how secular and civil discourse took shape in Iraq after 2003— when it rose to prominence, how it declined, and why it never turned into a decisive political force. This article traces the historical trajectory of this discourse from the Governing Council to the 2025 elections, from unexpected alliances to rapid fragmentation.

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Reports

Iraq’s Sajida Obeid: The voice, the body, the memory

Few artists captured Iraq’s shifting social landscape as vividly as Sajida Obeid. Emerging under the Baʿath regime, surviving the violence of the 2000s, and rising anew in the digital era, she turned taboo subjects—drinking, desire, female autonomy—into shared moments of song and dance. Her work reveals how Iraqis negotiated control, morality, and joy across decades of upheaval.
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Reports

Between reform and repetition: What Iraq’s 2025 elections reveal about trust, power, and accountability 

As Iraq heads into another election cycle, questions loom large over whether the process will deepen reform or further entrench elite dominance. Jummar speaks to political analyst Sajad Jiyad about the prospects for genuine change, the legacy of the Tishreen uprising, and the persistent structural barriers facing Iraqi voters today.

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Reports

One million US Dollars spent on Iraqi election ads: Tracking three months of costly social media campaigning 

Between July and September 2025, Iraqi political forces and figures spent more than one million US Dollars on paid advertisements on Facebook and Instagram, according to Meta’s data. Yet, the striking fact is that 60 percent of this spending came from pages with no declared political identity. This article tracks, through figures and details, how Iraq’s political actors are pouring vast sums into the digital sphere.

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Reports

Iraqis’ choices in the 2025 elections: boycott, participation, and hesitation

Between those who view boycott as protest, those who wager on participation as a limited chance for change, and those who hesitate between the two, this article explores the three choices facing Iraqis in the upcoming November elections.
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Reports

Iraq after the repeal of the US war legislations: sovereignty or fragility? 

The US Congress voted to revoke the authorisations for the wars against Iraq, marking a historic decision that ends the justifications for the 2003 invasion and the 1991 Gulf War, while also raising new questions.

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Reports

Iraq’s women in the electoral race: lost opportunities and marginalisation 

What is the point of a parliamentary seat for women if they are excluded from decision-making? What does participation mean if the doors close when policies are discussed? And can we really speak of political empowerment when women remain numbers, not voices, in a game ruled by men?

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Reports

From citizens to sects: The implications of Jaafari Code on Iraq  

With the adoption of the Jaafari Code, Iraq moves towards redefining citizenship and transforming the law from being a social safety valve into a tool that deepens sectarianism and family disintegration.
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Reports

Iraq’s Christians: a fraught journey of political representation 

The presence of Christians in Iraq dates back to the first century AD. Today they receive parliamentary representation through quota seats, yet even these seats are subject to polarisation and contestation.

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Reports

Iraq’s revenge election: Between numbers, probabilities, and political reckoning 

The 2025 elections are not so much a contest for parliamentary seats as they are a battle of political vengeance — one that the Coordination Framework is waging to reclaim what it lost in 2021, as anxiety continues to dominate the mood of an angry Iraqi public.