Explore all Articles

filter by–Region

filter by–Country

search by–Keyword

Guilty by Association: The Fate of ISIL Families in Iraq

08.27.19

BY JOHN MILLOCK   In December 2017, Iraq’s government declared victory over the Islamic State (ISIL), ending more than three years of ISIL’s brutal occupation of large swaths of Iraq. Yet for the 2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Iraq today, the conflict is far from over.[1] This is especially true for ordinary Iraqi […]

After ISIL: Justice and Protection for Children in Iraq

05.10.18

ISIL violated international, national, regional and tribal law when it recruited children to participate in its armed conflict.  With ISIL’s loss of territory in Iraq, the rush to enact justice against perpetrators of these abuses has overlooked the status of children and the need to tailor treatment specifically to child soldiers who survived a brutal occupation.

Tunisia protests

Tunisia: “Unemployment has killed me”

05.15.17

Youth unemployment is a major driver of radicalization in Tunisia, which supplies more fighters to Syria and Iraq than any other country.

Poverty, Inequality and Opportunity
Hezbollah fighter's funeral

Hezbollah in Syria: a gamble too far?

04.18.17

Despite incurring heavy losses, Hezbollah stands to gain from its participation in the Syrian civil war on the side of Assad.

International Relations and Security
ISIL graffiti

ISIL may be losing on the battlefield. But it’s winning elsewhere.

04.4.17

The terrorist group aims to shrink the “grayzone”: the plane of coexistence between Muslims in the West and their non-Muslim countrymen.

International Relations and Security
Aleppo Karm al Jabal neighborhood

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.

Human Rights
Fareed Yasseen

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.

International Relations and Security
Iraq Popular Mobilization Forces

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.

Media

Rami Khouri: The US’ ‘unlearned lessons’ in the Middle East

10.7.16

For the past 35 years, the United States has been militarily involved in the Middle East – from Lebanon to Libya, Iraq to Syria. Yet this extensive involvement in the region has failed to make any lasting positive impact or achieve the United States’ stated goals, according to Rami Khouri, director of the Issam Fares […]

International Relations and Security

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” […]

International Relations and Security

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 […]

International Relations and Security

An Alternative Strategy for Ankara in the Levant

12.9.15

Under the leadership of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Turkey has secured its position as a major global actor. The country benefited from robust economic growth in the early 2000s and strengthened its ties with the region, the European Union, Africa, and the United States. Turkey rose to prominence with its “zero problems with […]

Globalization

Call for Submissions


Join the HKS Student Policy Review—

to research, write, and learn about policy in a new way. We offer Harvard students an opportunity to engage with the most important policy issues of our time, across a whole range of topics and regions.