PeaceRep is a seven-year research consortium led by the University of Edinburgh Law School. The LSE Middle East Centre is a consortium member, and our research focuses on peacebuilding, conflict and democratisation in Iraq and the regional roles of Turkey and the GCC states. PeaceRep is funded by UK Aid from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), UK.
This project examines the PMF’s role during the 2022 post-election crisis in Iraq.
Download the final report in English and Arabic.
Principal Investigator: Taif Alkhudary, LSE Middle East Centre
This project discusses the impact of opposition parties on strengthening democracy in Iraq after 2019 and the potential for internal system change.
Download the final report.
Other Projects
Past Projects
Conflict Research Programme
The Conflict Research Programme (CRP) ran between October 2017 and March 2021. It addressed the drivers and dynamics of violent conflict in the Middle East and Africa and informed measures being used to tackle armed conflict and its impacts. The programme focused on Iraq, Syria, DRC, Somalia and South Sudan, as well as the wider Horn of Africa/Red Sea and Middle East regions.
The LSE Middle East Centre worked closely with local Iraqi organisations to lead research on drivers of conflict in Iraq and the wider Middle East. The CRP funded 24 projects on Iraq. Publications produced as part of this programme due to be published in the summer of 2021 are listed below.
This programme was funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Principal Investigator: Taif Alkhudary, LSE Middle East Centre
This project examines legal discrimination against Iraqi women.
Download the final report.
Principal Investigator: Omar Al-Jaffal
This project examines the formation and internal functioning of Iraq's political parties.
Download the final report.
Disinformation in the Iraqi Media
Principal Investigator: Aida Al-Kaisey
This project examines the key narratives of disinformation in the Iraqi media and the impact it has on policy debates.
Download the final report.
Principal Investigator: Benedict Robin D'Cruz
This project looks at the tactical and strategic decisions that activists make during mobilisation and after protests abate.
Download the final report.
Principal Investigator: Jessica Watkins, LSE Middle East Centre
This project seeks to contextualise internationally-backed centralised efforts to demilitarise the local Iraqi police post-2017.
Download the final report.
Principal Investigator: Michael Mason, LSE Middle East Centre
This project examines the extent to which water infrastructure interventions are sustainable and meet the expectations of Iraqis.
Download the final report.
Principal Investigators: Omar Al-Jaffal and Safaa Khalaf
This project examined challenges local governance in Basra.
Download the final report in English and Arabic.
Principal Investigator: Sajad Jiyad
This project analysed the upcoming federal elections and their potential impact on the political order in Iraq.
Download the final report.
Principal Investigator: Omar Sirri
This project examined the political economy of space in Baghdad.
Download the final report.
Principal Investigators: Ali Al-Mawlawi and Sajad Jiyad
This project explored the extent to which decentralisation has been enforced and implemented in Iraq.
Download the final report.
Is Demography Destiny?
Principal Investigator: Alexander Hamilton
This project examines the economic implications of Iraq's fast-expanding demographic profile.
Download the final report.
Principal Investigators: Zmkan Ali Saleem and Mac Skelton
This project examined the state of the patronage networks of the two major political parties in Kurdistan.
Download the final report.
The Political Economy of Economic Policy in Iraq
Principal Investigator: Alexander Hamilton
This project examined the impact of the post-2003 political system on the implementation of economic policy.
Download the final report.
Principal Investigator: Zeynep Kaya, LSE Middle East Centre
This project examined how gender norms are contested, manipulated, and influence the conflict economy in Iraq.
Download the final report.
Principal Investigator: Ali Al-Mawlawi
This project examined Iraqi government corruption by looking at the rapid expansion of payrolls after 2003.
Download the final report.
Principal Investigator: Aida Al-Kaisy
The project examined ‘pockets of civicness' in the Iraqi media.
Download the final report.
Principal Investigator: Jessica Watkins, LSE Middle East Centre
This project re-assessed assumptions about whether and how satellite channels promote sectarianisation in the MENA.
Download the final report.
Principal Investigator: Mac Skelton
This project looked into how the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Government of Iraq drive conflict.
Download the final report.
Principal Investigator: Christine van den Toorn
This project examined the mobilisation strategies and results of the 2018 Iraqi elections.
Download the final report.
Principal Investigator: Güley Bor
This project analysed the extent to which domestic laws on conflict-related SGBV responses and reparations are being implemented.
Download the final report in English and Arabic.
Iraq and its Regions: Iraqi Governance Structures after the Liberation of Mosul
Following the liberation of Mosul from Islamic State in July 2017 and the Kurdish independence referendum in September of the same year, the LSE Middle East Centre hosted two workshops examining the institutional structures used to govern Iraq and test their sustainability. The workshops brought together Iraqi political analysts, decision-makers and other experts on the country to explore possible alternatives to the status quo.
This workshop examined the major dynamics that shaped Iraqi politics following the liberation of Mosul and the arrival of Iraqi troops in Kirkuk.
Read a summary of workshop proceedings in Arabic and English.
This workshop examined the major dynamics shaping Iraq-Kurdish politics following the independence referendum held in September 2017.
Read a summary of workshop proceedings in Arabic and English.
Other reports
The Iraqi protest movement: From identity politics to issue politics
Principal Investigator: Faleh A. Jabar
This project examined the 2015 protest movement in Iraq.
Read the final report in English and Arabic.
The Iraqi Constitution: Structural Flaws and Political Implications
Principal Investigator: Saad N. Jawad
This project examined the flaws and political consequences of Iraq's 2005 consitution.
Read the final report.
Contact
Toby is Research Director of CRP-Iraq and a Professor in the Department of International Relations.
Taif is an Iraq-focused Research Officer at LSE Middle East Centre.