Event: Iraq at a Crossroad – Political Consolidation or Further Disintegration?

 The Middle East Institute for Research and Strategic Studies (MEIRSS) & Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) Syria/Iraq office cordially invite you to a panel titled:

                           Iraq at a Crossroad – Political Consolidation or Further Disintegration?
Iraq is at a crossroad. On December 9th, 2017, the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi announced the official end of the military fight against the so-called Islamic State in the country. Meanwhile, the independence referendum in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on September 25th, 2017, and the subsequent retaking of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk by Iraqi security forces have put the country on the brink of yet another civil war. 2018 will be a decisive year for Iraq; with parliamentary elections scheduled for May, a fragmented political landscape and the conflict between Baghdad and Erbil still looming, the future development of the country is uncertain. Will Iraq experience a phase of political consolidation or further disintegration?
19:00 – 19:30 Arrival and registration
19:30 – 19:45 Welcome words by Elie Khoury, President of MEIRSS, and Lucas Lamberty, Research Fellow at KAS Syria/Iraq Office
19:45 – 20:30 Panel Discussion: Iraq at a Crossroads – Political
Consolidation or Further Disintegration?
– Chair: Elie Khoury
– Input 1: Iraq Before the Elections – Current Challenges and the State of Iraqi Politics
Dr Harith Hasan Al-Qarawee, Non-resident Senior Fellow, Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, Atlantic Council
– Input 2: The View from Kurdistan – Inner-Kurdish Struggles and the Conflict Between Bagdad and Erbil
Christine van den Toorn, Director of the Institute of Regional and International Studies, American University of Iraq – Sulaimani
– Questions and Answers
20:30 – 21:00 Reception
The panel is scheduled to be held on Monday, January 29, 2017 from 7:30 till 9:00 pm (Beirut time) at the MEIRSS premises.
For confirmation, kindly send us an email including your name and your phone number on info@meirss.org or contact our center on +961 (9) 635468 / +961 (3) 340460