Writing for Al Jazeera, MEI senior research fellow Dr Fanar Haddad argues that despite the perpetual protests against economic disenfranchisement, political repression and state brutality that have plagued Iraq, the diffused structure of Iraq’s political sphere means that the ‘revolution’ is unlikely to bear fruit, and that the only way in which substantive reform can be achieved is if the oligarchy makes way for the emergence of new political forces. Read his article here.

Image caption: Iraqi anti-government protesters during the sit-in at Tahrir Square in Baghdad, Iraq. Photo: Ahmad Al-Rubaye/ AFP.