◄ | IRAQ |
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Iraq (officially Republic of Iraq, is an Arab country in the Middle East, bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, Kuwait to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the southwest and Syria to the west. The capital, and largest city, is Baghdad. The main ethnic groups are Arabs and Kurds; others include Assyrians, Turkmen, Shabakis, Yazidis, Armenians, Mandeans, Circassians and Kawliya. Around 95% of the country's 37 million citizens are Muslims, with Christianity, Yarsan, Yezidism and Mandeanism also present. The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish. |
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Iraq's modern borders were mostly demarcated in 1920 by the League of Nations when the Ottoman Empire was divided by the Treaty of Sèvres. Iraq was placed under the authority of the United Kingdom as the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. A monarchy was established in 1921, and the Kingdom of Iraq gained independence from Britain in 1932. In 1958, the monarchy was overthrown and the Iraqi Republic created. Iraq was controlled by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party from 1968 until 2003. After an invasion by the United States and its allies in 2003, Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party was removed from power, and multi-party parliamentary elections were held in 2005. The American presence in Iraq ended in 2011, but the Iraqi insurgency continued and intensified as fighters from the Syrian Civil War spilled into the country. Out of the insurgency came a highly destructive group calling itself ISIL, which took large parts of the north and west. It has since been largely defeated. Disputes over the sovereignty of Iraqi Kurdistan continue. A referendum about the full sovereignty of Iraqi Kurdistan was held on 25 September 2017. Iraq is a founding member of the UN as well as of the Arab League, OIC, Non-Aligned Movement and the IMF. It is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of 19 governorates (provinces) and one autonomous region (Iraqi Kurdistan). The country's official religion is Islam. Culturally, Iraq has a very rich heritage and celebrates the achievements of its past in pre-Islamic times and is known for its poets. Its painters and sculptors are among the best in the Arab world, some of them being world-class as well as producing fine handicrafts, including rugs and carpets. |
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Relations between Iraq and the EU are based on two agreements covering cooperation and assistance. Iraq is an important partner for the EU because of its geopolitical position in the Middle East and its proximity to the EU. |
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As a result of the sustained efforts and valiant performance of Iraq’s security forces, leadership and allies, the defeat of the Islamic State has returned Iraq to more peaceful waters. Daily levels of violence have gone down and its people face a brighter future. Yet, an array of old and new challenges already looms on the horizon, including the upcoming elections, the unresolved Kurdish issue and a profound degree of state capture. Moreover, the problems that created the Islamic State - Sunni marginalization, corruption and self-serving elites - persist. All of this will complicate the reconstruction and reconciliation efforts necessary to forestall more violence in Iraq’s near future. October 29, 2019, after the Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs met members of the Dutch goverment, he presented a special lecture: 'Iraq in the Middle East: Battleground or Bridge Builder'. |
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It follows from this characterization that there has been no such thing as structural political unity between Iraq’s Shi’a in the period 1991–2016. Its corollary is that the country’s Shi’a political elites share neither a view on how to deal practically with the country’s many challenges nor a broad strategic vision of Iraq’s future. Shi’a national political dominance has taken the form of a fluid, rough-and-tumble affair in which immediate material interests have tended to prevail over longer-term perspectives and national policy. It also follows from this characterization that strong legacies of violence and poor relations persist between a number of Iraq’s Shi’a parties and leaders, regardless of their ability to form coalitions pragmatically, overcome existing enmities and flexibly adjust principles where this has been in their interests. The political instability that has resulted from this mix of fluidity and latent enmity in relations and coalitions has significantly reduced the quality of governance and administration, owing to long periods of coalition negotiations, high levels of discontinuity and significant abuse of public authority.
These findings point to two broad problems for Iraq’s future as a nation. First, few channels exist outside of the existing political establishment to manifest grievances and discontent that arise from significant levels of poor governance, insecurity, poverty and inadequate service delivery. This risks storing up socio-political unrest for the future as the political establishment is not necessarily held in high regard by ordinary Iraqis. The quasi-permanence of the cast of Shi’a characters and parties that dominate political competition in Baghdad has discouraged new political entrants, creating a relatively ‘closed’ political marketplace. In consequence, the rejuvenation of the Shi’a body politic has been very limited despite the fact that many of the existing leaders have a distinctly underwhelming track record in terms of their public service performance. |
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Working with existing political parties and their leadership 1. Support efforts at political confidence-building and reconciliation between Iraq’s Shi’a political groups. Working outside of existing political parties and their leadership 3. Provide long-term support to Shi’a social movements, civil society advocacy groups and nascent political parties. |
The Cyrus Cylinder is an ancient clay cylinder, now broken into several pieces, on which is written a declaration in Akkadian cuneiform script in the name of Persia's Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great. It dates from the 6th century BC and was discovered in the ruins of Babylon in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) in 1879. It was created and used as a foundation deposit following the Persian conquest of Babylon in 539 BC, when the Neo-Babylonian Empire was invaded by Cyrus and incorporated into his Persian Empire. The text states that Cyrus was welcomed by the people of Babylon as their new ruler and entered the city in peace. |