Publication

This paper is a transcript of a discussion on sectarian relations in Iraq during and after the 2003-2011 US occupation as well as the influence of external powers on the county. Emma Sky, a former government coordinator in Iraq’s Kirkuk province, first discusses why Iraq is dealing with a renewed political crisis and what lessons the West should learn from the Iraq war. Hayder al-Khoei, an associate fellow at Chatham House, then focuses on the rise of the so-called Islamic State, analyzes the underlying sectarian dynamics in Iraq as well as the influence of the US and Iran in the country.