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.