كركوك بعد ٢٠٠٣

The Demographic Trap Renewed: Identity Politics and the Failure of

Fakherddin Salih, a Kurd who returned to Kirkuk after 2003, is one of hundreds of Kurdish families threatened with eviction from their homes. For nearly a year, Salih and others guarded their homes, fearing forced displacement by the Iraqi army, pressured by "influential Arabs" seeking to reclaim residential and agricultural lands that the Ba'ath regime had granted them after seizing them from their original Kurdish and Turkmen owners. This is a deep-rooted and recurrent conflict over property, fueled by partisan interests and constantly shifting administrative and security power dynamics in the oil-rich province, which is home to a mix of…

The birth of Halabja: What lies ahead for the new

Halabja recently became a province through political agreements and a renewed power struggle, following decades of chemical attacks, suffering, and manipulation. Will this newly created province be drawn further into the growing contest for control? Or could it mark a new beginning, one that is situated among cities in transition?