• Security

Iraq, Between the Political Crisis and Entrenched Violence

More than ten years after the American invasion of Iraq and just two years after the final withdrawal of American troops, the country is on the brink of chaos. Although media attention is no longer concentrated in Iraq, the country is now a rift between the Sunni and Shiite worlds that threatens the country’s stability.

The new federal state, weakened but supported by both Iran and the United States, is dominated by an authoritarian government that does not hesitate to violently repress demonstrations and evade the most basic rights. Despite the fragile security situation, Al Maliki pledged to hold the legislative elections on 30 April.

Paradoxically, while the economic outlook is still good (Iraq is the fourth largest country in the world in oil reserves), oil income does not improve the living conditions of the population. In addition, the conflict between the central state and the autonomous Kurdish entity over the distribution of energy resources remains latent.

Ignacio Rupérez, former Spanish ambassador to Iraq and author of “Collateral Damages: A Spaniard in the Iraqi Hell” (2008) discusses the current situation in the country in a round table with Antoni Segura, Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Barcelona, and Maria Alba Gilabert, special envoy of Catalunya Ràdio in Iraq in 2003 and 2011.

Speakers

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Speaker

Senén Florensa

Executive President IEMed

Speaker

Antoni Segura

Director Centre d’Estudis Històrics Internacionals – UB

Speaker

Maria-Alba Gilabert

Journalist Catalunya Ràdio

Speaker

Ignacio Rupérez

Diplomat

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