Conflict Research Programme - Iraq

supported by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)

 

 

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. For more information about the programme, please contact the programme director, Professor Toby Dodge

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Patriarchal Norms and Legal Discrimination Against Women  in Iraq

Principal Investigator: Taif Alkhudary, LSE Middle East Centre 

This project examines legal discrimination against Iraqi women.

Download the final report. 

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Undemocratic Parties in a "Democratic" System

Principal Investigator: Omar Al-Jaffal

This project examines the formation and internal functioning of Iraq's political parties.

Download the final report

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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. 

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After the Uprising: Post-Mobilisation Strategies in Southern Iraq

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. 

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From Green to Blue? Local Policing in Iraq After ISIL 

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

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Water Governance in Basra

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

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A Locality in Crisis: A Study of the Local Governance Crisis and Public Protests in Basra

Principal Investigators: Omar Al-Jaffal and Safaa Khalaf

This project examined challenges  local governance in Basra. 

Download the final report in English and Arabic. 

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Insights into the 2021 Iraqi Federal Elections

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

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Baghdad's Market Spaces and the Politics of Urban "Renewal"

Principal Investigator: Omar Sirri 

This project examined the political economy of space in Baghdad.

Download the final report. 

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Understanding the Failures of Decentralisation in Iraq

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.

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Is Demography Destiny? 

Principal Investigator: Alexander Hamilton

This project examines the economic implications of Iraq's fast-expanding demographic profile. 

Download the final report

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Conflict Drivers within the KRI: The Role of Patronage Networks

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.

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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. 

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Conflict, Gender and Violence in Iraq

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

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Payroll Expansion and the Political Marketplace in Iraq

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.

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'Pockets of Media Civicness' in a Conflictual Political Landscape: A Case Study of Iraqi Media

Principal Investigator: Aida Al-Kaisy 

The project examined ‘pockets of civicness' in the Iraqi media. 

Download the final report

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Moral Populism and Satellite Sectarianisation

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.

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Public Authority and Iraq's Disputed Territories

Principal Investigator: Mac Skelton

This project looked into how the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Government of Iraq drive conflict. 

Download the final report

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Reporting the Iraqi Federal Elections 

Principal Investigator: Christine van den Toorn 

This project examined the mobilisation strategies and results of the 2018 Iraqi elections. 

 Download the final report.

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Reforming Legal Responses to Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region

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.