Iraq’s social and political landscape has changed drastically after an escalation of regional and global power competition, the COVID-19-induced health and economic crises, and the unprecedented uprising by peaceful demonstrators in October 2019 that led to formation of a new government. These developments have exacerbated long-standing tensions, feeding public distrust in the state and tribal violence in the south. They have also detrimentally affected minority communities, especially in ISIS-affected areas, creating openings for ISIS remnants to step up attacks and contributing to continued internal displacement of over one million persons.

Nadia Murad
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Nadia Murad delivered public remarks at USIP on June 28, 2019 on the plight of the Ezidi people, and stabilization and resilience for Iraq’s minority communities.

The formation of a new government in May 2020 ended months of political deadlock, but fiscal pressures, political rivalries, and limited institutional capacity present serious hurdles to reforms—such as strengthening governance and tackling corruption—that remain critical to long-term stability in Iraq and regionally.

USIP’s Work

The U.S. Institute of Peace has worked without interruption in Iraq since 2003 and maintains offices in Baghdad and Erbil. USIP’s initiatives strengthen institutions’ and communities’ capacity to prevent, mitigate, and resolve conflicts without violence. Our key partners, Sanad for Peacebuilding and the Network of Iraqi Facilitators (NIF), have halted violent feuds, saving lives and re-stabilizing communities.

In 2015, USIP and its Iraqi partners conducted dialogues that prevented violence among tribes following the Speicher massacre in which ISIS brutally killed 1,700 Iraqi cadets. In 2017, a similar initiative prevented resurgence of communal violence in the city of Hawija, following its liberation from ISIS.

USIP informs U.S. and Iraqi policy through research and analysis on conflict issues in Iraq, and by convening government officials and nongovernment experts.

Timeline of USIP-led dialogues and return of IDP’s to Salahaddin Province

USIP’s work in Iraq includes:

Developing Iraqi capacity for peacebuilding and reconciliation

USIP provides technical and financial support to Sanad, an Iraqi civic organization with expertise mediating communal disputes. USIP, Sanad, and NIF have helped mend sectarian and inter-tribal cleavages in communities torn by extremist violence, including Tikrit, Hawija, Bartella, Yathrib, and Tal Afar. Through strategic and technical assistance, USIP supports the Kurdistan Regional Government Department of Foreign Relations and the Women Empowerment Organization in the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security. USIP has also provided technical and strategic support to Government of Iraq institutions.

Support for Iraqi minorities

USIP’s work led to the creation of the Alliance of Iraqi Minorities (AIM), which advocates peacefully for the rights and interests of Christians, Ezidis (Yazidis), Sabean-Mandaeans, Shabak, and other minorities. Their activism led Iraq’s Education Ministry to recognize religious minorities for the first time in national textbooks. AIM advocates for reparations to minority communities harmed by ISIS and works with government agencies to help displaced minority communities return to their homes in Nineveh Plain, Sinjar, and elsewhere in northern Iraq. They have also advised Iraq’s legislature and the international community on minority needs, and worked with the Kurdistan region’s parliament, contributing to a law on minorities’ rights and the formation of participatory budget committees to advocate for their communities in Iraq’s annual budget process.

USIP, Sanad, and NIF are conducting an initiative in Nineveh to facilitate IDP returns by mediating tensions between Christians and Shabaks in Hamdaniya, Sunni and Shia Turkmen in Tal Afar, and Ezidis and Sunni Arabs in Sinjar.

Through a specialized tool called the Conflict and Stabilization Monitoring Framework, USIP collects data directly from conflict-affected communities in minority-rich areas to understand barriers to peace and stabilization needs.

Reconciliation and rule of law in Anbar and Basra

USIP supports a locally driven research and training initiative in Anbar and Basra—two provinces where tribal dynamics dominate—to address the drivers of community-based conflicts, mitigate violence, and strengthen stabilization efforts through facilitated dialogues. This initiative also explores how broadening tribal practices might promote peace and help strengthen state institutions.

Speaker of the Council of Representatives Mohamed al-Halbousi
Speaker of the Council of Representatives Mohamed al-Halbousi delivered a public speech at USIP on March 29, 2019 after meeting with U.S. government officials. The speaker discussed the newly formed parliament’s priorities, the ongoing battle against viol

Related Publications

Iraq’s Provincial Council Elections: The Way Forward in Nineveh Province

Iraq’s Provincial Council Elections: The Way Forward in Nineveh Province

Wednesday, December 13, 2023

By: Osama Gharizi;  Yomnna Helmi

On December 18, Iraqis will elect members of the provincial councils, the highest oversight bodies of subnational government and key providers of public services. The elections are the first at the provincial level in over a decade and come in the wake of the 2019 anti-government protests that resulted in the dissolution of the provincial councils following demands from the protesters who accused them of corruption. Recent findings from the U.S. Institute of Peace’s Conflict and Stabilization Monitoring Framework in Nineveh Province reveal that candidates are facing a distrustful electorate that is lacking confidence in state institutions.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & Governance

Climate Adaption Key to Iraq’s Stability and Economic Development

Climate Adaption Key to Iraq’s Stability and Economic Development

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

By: Sarhang Hamasaeed;  Mac Skelton;  Zmkan Ali Saleem

Iraq is projected to be among the five countries hardest hit by the impact of climate change. The country is already witnessing depreciating water supply and accelerating desertification, leading to the loss of as much as 60,000 acres of arable land each year, according to Iraqi government and United Nations sources. These climate phenomena threaten the livelihoods and food security of Iraq’s population of an estimated 43 million, creating conditions for displacement, instability and a deterioration of social cohesion. The water crisis has grown steadily amid severe drought, upstream damming practices in Turkey and Iran, and increased domestic consumption within Iraq’s borders.

Type: Analysis

EnvironmentGlobal Policy

Iraq’s al-Sudani Government, One Year Later

Iraq’s al-Sudani Government, One Year Later

Thursday, November 2, 2023

By: Sarhang Hamasaeed

Last week marked one year since Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani assumed office. His ascension to the role came after a year of deep political tensions, several alarming but contained episodes of violence, and no annual government budget. A political agreement among the Shia coalition known as the Coordination Framework and major Kurdish and Sunni Arab parties set the stage for the al-Sudani government to form — meanwhile, the biggest winner in the 2021 parliamentary elections, cleric and political leader Moqtada al-Sadr, decided to withdraw from the political process altogether.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & Governance

View All Publications