- 15 Jun 2017
[CANCELLED] MEI Political Economy Cluster: Calm after the Storm? Political and Security Challenges and Opportunities in Iraq after Daesh
(This event was organised by MEI’s Political Economy’s Research Cluster, as part of its quarterly public speakers series.)
Abstract
This talk focused on opportunities and challenges in post ISIS Iraq, including its Kurdistan Region. As the war against ISIS draws to an end, numerous issues rose to the surface that continued to challenge stability in Iraq and the broader region: a national deal in Baghdad; a settlement between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal government of Iraq; and a variety of local disputes among militias and other groups empowered by wins against ISIS. To overcome such challenges, security and political deals and settlements are required on both a local and national level. International powers will have to exercise leverage in these deals due to lack of trust among competing local and national actors. The talk focused on fault lines and flashpoints on local and national level, and how they may be defused.
About the Speakers
Christine M. van den Toorn is the Director of the Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS) at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS), where she has worked for the past eight years. Van den Toorn has conducted fieldwork all over Iraq’s disputed territories (DIBs) and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). Her current research focuses on political dynamics in post-ISIS territories. She has published in Foreign Policy, Iraq Oil Report, War on the Rocks, Inside Iraqi Politics, Daily Beast, Niqash and Musings on Iraq and has delivered talks internationally, including at the Woodrow Wilson Center, Georgetown University, Stimson Center, Oxford and Exeter. van den Toorn is the lead organizer for the annual Sulaimani Forum. She is a member of the Atlantic Council Task Force on the Future of Iraq, chaired by Ambassador Ryan Crocker. In addition to her research, van den Toorn has taught Middle East history at AUIS, and has developed a variety of University programs. Before moving to Iraq, van den Toorn received her M.A. in Middle East History from the University of Virginia and served in the United States Peace Corps in Morocco. She speaks Arabic, having studied at Middlebury College and Georgetown University, as well as at the French Institute for Near East Studies in Damascus and the University of Damascus.
