Iraq Research
Reports, workshops and events
The LSE Middle East Centre has a long established history of working with local partners to carry out world renowned research on Iraq. This page is an overview of research projects undertaken in and on the country.
ELEVATE: Early Career Researchers’ Initiative for Strengthening Women's Climate Resilience
Principal Investigators: Dr Sara Mehryarand Dr Akeel Abbas
This project aims to identify, assess and address gaps in women's resilience to extreme heat and water scarcity in Iraq.This project is funded by the British Council.
PeaceRep Iraq
PeaceRep is a seven-year research consortium led by the University of Edinburgh Law School. The LSE Middle East Centre's research focuses on peacebuilding, conflict and democratisation in Iraq.
This research is funded by the FCDO.
Managing Religious Diversity in the Middle East: Al Muhasasa Ta'ifia in Iraq, 2003-2018.
Principal Investigator: Professor Toby Dodge
This project examines the creation and evolution of Al Muhasasa Ta’ifia and its influence on Iraq’s politics.
This research is funded by the Henry Luce Foundation.
Gendered Networks of Power: The parliamentary quota and women’s substantive political representation in Iraq
Principal Investigator: Taif Alkhudary
This project examines the effectiveness of Iraq’s gender quota in enabling women’s substantive political representation since 2005.
This research is funded by the British Institute for the Study of Iraq.
For more information about the MEC's current and past Iraq research, please contact Kendall Livingston, Projects and Research Development Manager, atk.livingston@lse.ac.uk
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.
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.
Undemocratic Parties in a "Democratic" System
Principal Investigator: Omar Al-Jaffal
This project examines the formation and internal functioning of Iraq's political parties.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Baghdad's Market Spaces and the Politics of Urban "Renewal"
Principal Investigator: Omar Sirri
This project examined the political economy of space in Baghdad.
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.
Is Demography Destiny?
Principal Investigator: Alexander Hamilton
This project examines the economic implications of Iraq's fast-expanding demographic profile.
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.
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.
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.
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.
'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.
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.
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.
Reporting the Iraqi Federal Elections
Principal Investigator: Christine van den Toorn
This project examined the mobilisation strategies and results of the 2018 Iraqi elections.
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.
The LSE Middle East Centre hosted two workshops examining the institutional structures used to govern Iraq and test their sustainability, following the liberation of Mosul from Islamic State and the Kurdish independence referendum in 2017.
Baghdad–Provincial Relations after Mosul and Kirkuk
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 summaryof workshop proceedings in Arabic and English.
The Future of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq after the Referendum
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.