Post-election political landscape in Iraqi Kurdistan

This article analyses the 2024 Kurdish parliamentary elections, which proved to be decisive, with the KDP and the PUK maintaining their hegemony while new political movements gained prominence. The next government will likely be a coalition, though tensions between the two dominant parties complicate this process. The election highlights broader issues of legitimacy and trust, emphasising the need for institutions capable of balancing conflict and order within the political system of the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

What Does the Census Tell About Iraq?

In this article, Sardar Aziz examines the census’s omission of ethnicity, sect, and language, interpreting it as an attempt to construct a unified Iraqi identity, though this risks denying the country’s diversity. This exclusion has varying impacts, particularly in disputed areas with demographic shifts due to conflict. The author analyses the census as a political tool shaped by state priorities, reflecting specific agendas that are often disconnected from the country’s social realities.

The Road to Damascus: Al-Jolani’s Transformation and Syria’s Next Chapter

In this article, Sardar Aziz analyses the gradual transformation of Al-Jolani into Ahmed al-Sharaa, a shift marked by strategic and symbolic changes in his identity and discourse. Transitioning from a Salafist-jihadist leader to a political figure seeking integration into the international landscape, Al-Sharaa capitalises on symbolic acts, such as the capture of Aleppo’s citadel and his visit to the Umayyad Mosque, while adopting an approach that combines political considerations, power consolidation, and an evolution in ideological positioning.

The Fall of Assad: Global Stakes and Implications

In this article, Dr. Sardar Aziz examines the situation in Syria in the aftermath of the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. From a global perspective, the stabilisation and development of Syria require regional and international powers to consider and address the concerns and interests of others from a Syrian viewpoint. This represents an unprecedented approach in the region’s history, where competition and conflict have long been the norm.

The Kurds in “The New Middle East”

A new wave of transformation is sweeping across the Middle East, making the region more fluid than ever. All regional powers are navigating potential shifts, while socioeconomic conditions remain far more fragile than institutional framework. The events of October 7th have shattered old structures and regimes, yet no clear new order has taken shape. These upheavals are also impacting the Kurds across all four countries where they reside, leaving them caught between the prospect of peace and the persistence of conflict.