The seizure of Mosul by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and their rapid move south towards Baghdad has thrown Iraq into another post-regime change crisis. This panel aims to examine the identity and background of the fighters in northern Iraq, as well as the root causes behind the violence. Bringing together three of the world’s leading experts on Iraq, it will explain why the Iraqi armed forces, comprising over a million men under arms, collapsed so quickly. It will then go on to explain how the political and constitutional system, which was set up in the aftermath of regime change, has contributed to the current situation. Finally, the speakers will discuss the consequences of the current crisis and what it means for the future of Iraq.
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Event Details
Speakers: Professor Toby Dodge, LSE; Ambassador Feisal Istrabadi, Indiana University; Dr Faleh Jabar, Iraq Institute for Strategic Studies
Chair: Professor Sami Zubaida, Birkbeck
Date: Thursday 26 June 2014
Time: 18.00-19.30
Location: Old Theatre, Old Building, LSE
Attendance: This event is free and open to all on a first come first served basis. Our events are very well attended, please make sure to arrive early. We cannot guarantee entry
Speakers
Professor Toby Dodge is Director of the LSE Middle East Centre, a Professor in the International Relations Department at LSE, and a Senior Consulting Fellow for the Middle East, International Institute for Strategic Studies, London. He is the author of Iraq: from War to a New Authoritarianism, named by The Economist as one of its books of the year.
Ambassador Feisal Istrabadi is Professor of Practice at the Maurer School of Law, Indiana University. He served as Deputy Permanent Representative of Iraq to the United Nations from 2004-2007. Prior to his diplomatic appointment, Ambassador Istrabadi was a legal advisor to the Iraqi Minister for Foreign Affairs during the negotiations for U.N. Security Council resolution 1546 of June 8, 2004. He was also principal legal drafter of Iraq's interim constitution, the Law of Administration of the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period, and principal author of its Bill of Fundamental Rights.
Dr Faleh A. Jabar is the Director of the Iraq Institute for Strategic Studies in Beirut. Previously, he was a Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace in New York as well as a Research Fellow at the School of Politics and Sociology, Birkbeck College, University of London. Dr. Jabar is an expert on Iraq and Middle Eastern politics and sociology. His publications in English include: The Shi'ite Movement in Iraq (2003), Tribes and Power in the Middle East (2002), and Ayatollahs, Sufis and Ideologues (2002), all published by Saqi Books, London.