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Aleppo and Mosul: What’s next?
02.28.17
JMEPP speaks with Gregory Aftandilian on the devastating battles for Aleppo and Mosul -and what’s next for Syria and Iraq.
Iraq: From dictatorship to what?
02.18.17
Fareed Yasseen, Iraq’s ambassador to the US, is optimistic about defeating ISIL – but sees several structural threats to Iraq’s stability.
Inside the propaganda war for Mosul
02.5.17
A propaganda war between the Iraqi government and ISIL is raging alongside the military campaign to retake Mosul.
Iraq’s Kurds should play their Trump card
01.29.17
Iraqi Kurds’ desire for an independent state may finally meet with US support now that Donald Trump is president.
Looking to Syria: No-fly zones and political stability in Iraq and Libya
11.5.16
This article appeared in JMEPP’s Spring 2016 print edition. The ongoing civil war in Syria has reignited interest in no-fly zones as policy options for halting violence against civilians and maintaining stability in conflict-ridden regions. In order to evaluate the success of this policy option, this article will survey a portion of relevant literature to […]
Is the Battle for Fallujah a Battle Against Fallujah?
06.15.16
Fallujah, located 40 miles west of Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, has long been known as the “city of mosques.” But since its capture by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Shia militias fighting to take the predominantly Sunni city have bestowed other epithets on Fallujah. One militia leader compared it to a “tumor” […]
Scorched Earth in Iraq and Syria
04.5.16
This week’s ouster of so-called Islamic State (ISIS) forces from the Syrian city of Palmyra sparked cautious optimism from some observers. Aside from the destruction of the city’s ancient ruins, Palmyra appeared less damaged than had been originally feared after its takeover by the Islamic State. Yet under the surface of this reclaimed land lies […]
Sectarianism and Conflict: Legacies of the Iran-Iraq War
04.2.16
During the Iran-Iraq War, which was set off with the Iraqi invasion of Iran in 1980 and which ended in 1988, sectarian ideology was used profusely, both as a tool for propaganda and to help both nations in strengthening their positions. The Sunni versus Shia framework was used as the pretext by Saddam Hussein for Iraq’s […]
Interview with Amir Ashour, Founder of Iraqueer
02.4.16
Amir Ashour is a human rights activist and the founder of Iraqueer, the first and only organization for the LGBTIQ+ community in Iraq and Kurdistan region. IraQueer aims at increasing the visibility and the awareness amongst and about the local LGBTIQ+ community. In a region where homosexuality is criminalized and queer people face horrific violence, […]
Paradigm Shifts Between Iran and Iraq
12.13.15
Introduction The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has strategically used Iraq’s unstable geopolitical and security landscape to rise from obscurity to become a powerful and ruthless organization. This terrorist organization has developed the capability to acquire vast stretches of territory and intends to continue expanding. As a result of its territorial ambitions […]
Policy Isn’t Enough: Campus Sexual Assault in a Middle Eastern Context
11.21.15
As public awareness has risen about the dismal state of sexual assault prevention and response on college campuses, American universities have scrambled to improve their policies and programming. As administrators at a university in Iraqi Kurdistan with an American-style educational system, we decided to be proactive and create a sexual misconduct policy laying […]
Kurdistan: A New Player in the Middle East?
11.13.15
The Fletcher School’s Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies had the pleasure of hosting Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Representative to the United States, this past week. Her father, Sami Abdul Rahman, was a former deputy prime minister of the KRG and a leader in the Kurdish struggle against Saddam Hussein. Ms. […]