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Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
In Search of a Semi-Autonomous Region in Northeastern Syria
Before the coronavirus pandemic, I had travelled to northeastern Syria twice in twelve months. On my most recent trip in Manbij, I found myself walking wide-eyed into a hardware store like any I would have frequented at home in the United States. Various electrical conduits and fittings for outlet boxes
Oct 29, 2020
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Kenneth R. Rosen
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
What U.S. Diplomacy for the Kurds in Syria?
Kurds in Syria’s northeastern region face an uncertain and threatening future, especially now that most American forces have withdrawn from the country. A sporadically belligerent Russian military presence, coupled with Turkish aggression against U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, has produced an increasingly precarious situation for Kurds in the area. Even Kurdish civilians
Sep 25, 2020
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John Saleh
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Who Benefits from a U.S. Oil Deal in Northeast Syria?
Upon each of my past arrivals in Syria, I’ve entered into landscapes of rolling hillocks and oil wells. Stippled across the land, some wells toiled slowly while others—rusted and abandoned—lay motionless, languishing along the buckled pavement of northeastern roads leading toward the city of Qamishlo. Reminiscent of the Texas Panhandle
Sep 18, 2020
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Kenneth R. Rosen
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Washington’s Stance on Syria and Iraq and The Widening Rift with Kurds in Iran
Over the last four years, Kurds in Iran have watched Kurdish communities in Syria and Iraq continue to suffer losses at the hands of hostile forces, disoriented by the turbulent shifts in Washington’s decision-making. It once seemed that the United States would support change in Iran beneficial to the country’s
Sep 17, 2020
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Baraa Sabri
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Navigating a Growing Chinese Influence in Iraqi Kurdistan
When I moved into new accommodations in the centre of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq, the lift announcements in the apartment tower were in Chinese, followed by Kurdish, Arabic and English. This multilingualism was surprising but positive; it was a clear sign of the
Jul 27, 2020
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Sardar Aziz
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Sooner Rather Than Later: The Demand for Decentralization in Iraqi Kurdistan
As Iraqi Kurdistan faces several severe crises simultaneously, it must evaluate the benefits and limitations of a popular call to reform and decentralize its current model of government. The Kurdistan regional government’s (KRG) current outdated model of governance will likely prove to be ineffective in handling these major challenges, revealing
Jun 2, 2020
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Sardar Aziz
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Emerging Risks and Reforms: The KRG’s Challenges in Building a Post-Coronavirus Economy
As the world navigates a state of economic paralysis, Middle Eastern nations are struggling to address the various consequences of a global downturn—including the precipitous drop in oil prices. As a region that is heavily dependent on oil production for economic survival, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) is especially
May 7, 2020
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Biner Aziz
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Iraq’s Volatile Politics: Al-Zurfi’s Slim Chances at Becoming PM
The outbreak of coronavirus is just the most recent misfortune for Iraq, which is suffering a complicated political deadlock created by the October 2019 protests against Iraq’s political elites. Iraq’s political leadership has failed to lead the country for the last seventeen years, focusing satisfying the country’s competing political blocs
Apr 8, 2020
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Biner Aziz
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the Coronavirus Response–Lessons Learned
Since March 13, my family and I have been locked at home in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), ordering all supplies and groceries via deliveries provided by the local supermarkets. As my neighbor Mr. Namiq, a public servant, put it: “Public daily routine has gotten complicated. [We have] a
Apr 3, 2020
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Biner Aziz
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Pivoting to the KRG: Restructuring the U.S. Military Presence in Iraq
Since the start of the Iraq War in 2003, a defining element of American policy has been the importance of the political and territorial integrity of the Iraqi state. In light of the U.S. killing of Qassem Soleimani, subsequent retaliation from Iran, and continued violence in Iraq—most recently manifesting in
Feb 3, 2020
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Eric Bordenkircher
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
The Future of Northeastern Syria: In Conversation with SDF Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi
With the latest unexpected escalation between Iran and the United States in Iraq, the ongoing challenges of Syria have, for the moment, become a less-discussed point of regional tension. However, for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which precariously continues to control an autonomous region of Northeastern Syria, the last few
Jan 10, 2020
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Wladimir van Wilgenburg
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
The U.S.-Kurdish Relationship in Iraq After Syria
On November 23, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence arrived in Iraq for an unannounced trip that included a visit to meet with the President of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) Nechirvan Barzani. In the published White House remarks of the meeting, one sentence asserted a sense of confidence in the
Dec 3, 2019
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Sardar Aziz
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
A Regional Kurdish Response to U.S. Policy in Syria
Back in 2015—during the annual forum at American University in Suleimaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan—I had the chance to tell former U.S. special presidential envoy for the Middle East Brett McGurk to “please tell our friends in the administration to not confuse us [the Kurds] with the conflicting U.S. foreign policies of
Nov 7, 2019
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Lawk Salah Ahmad
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Without Diversifying its Rentier Economy, Pessimism Among Kurdish Youth Will Increase
The legacy of the last 28 years of Kurdish self-governance has been marked by a broken political and economic region—with youth stripped of Kurdish patriotism. The Kurdistan Region’s rentier economy has led its policymakers to think in terms of short-term political gains, fed into a patron-client system already deeply entrenched
Sep 25, 2019
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Yerevan Saeed
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
The Turkish ‘Safe Zone’ and Erdogan’s Territorial Ambitions
After a month of negotiations and much previous speculation, Washington and Ankara have agreed on a 75-mile buffer zone between Tall Abyad and Ras al-Ain, with the two armies establishing a joint operations center in Ankara. At the end of last week, U.S. and Turkish forces conducted their first joint
Sep 13, 2019
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John Saleh
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Al-Hawl Camp: A Potential Incubator of the Next Generation of Extremism
Detention facilities for individuals affiliated with jihadist groups in the Middle East have a history of transforming into incubators for the creation and rise of new jihadist organizations, which have proved more dangerous and robust—both in terms of economic strength and manpower—than before. These organizations, which were founded from the
Sep 13, 2019
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Himbervan Kose
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Kurdish Voters Will Continue to Exercise their Vote in Turkey
Recently, Turkish municipal politics have become another lens into the complicated relationship between the Turkish government and the country’s Kurdish voters. On August 19, Turkish authorities removed the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) mayors of the majority Kurdish cities of Diyarbakir, Martin, and Van on unspecified charges of terrorism. These mayors
Sep 13, 2019
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Jiwan Soz
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
The Fate of Tel Rifaat Hangs in the Balance
On July 2, the Turkish army reportedly shelled Kurdish forces in the Northern Aleppo region of Tel Rifaat, following a similar incident in mid-June where the Turkish Defense Ministry reported killing ten Kurdish soldiers in retaliation for the death of a Turkish soldier. These recent intermittent skirmishes reflect how Tel
Jul 17, 2019
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Baraa Sabri
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Gorran and the End of Populism in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
After months of back and forth, the leading parties of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)—the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)—are engaged in negotiations to finalize the cabinet, which must be completed by July 12. Yet as the shape of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)’s
Jul 8, 2019
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Mera Jasm Bakr
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Understanding the Dangers of a Turkish ‘Safe-Zone’ in Syria
It has been almost a month since U.S. President Donald Trump’s abrupt announcement that American forces would leave Syria shocked American enemies, allies, and Trump’s own officials alike. For Washington, the question of what comes next has been a matter of significant debate and speculation. For Northeast Syria—and the millions
Jan 31, 2019
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Sinam Mohamad
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