Following the capture of Mosul and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s historic caliphate proclamation in 2014, media outlets were only far too eager to spread overtly fatalistic scenarios painting the imminent “end of Iraq.” Nevertheless, within four years’ time, an unprecedented surge of volunteers has managed to reverse the tide. Marching...

In a keynote speech at the Abu Dhabi Strategic Dialogue of 2018, His Excellency Dr Anwar Gargash, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, set out the UAE’s core principles in foreign policy. At the top of the list was the UAE’s pursuit of multilateralism.  Throughout the speech,...

Liwa Abu Fadl Abbas (or the Al Abbas Brigade) is a pro-government Syrian militant group in Syria with strong Iraqi links. Despite news last year of the group’s dissolution, confirmed by Iraqi leader Aws Khafaji, its fighters were deployed this summer in the offensive on South Syria, more specifically...

Terrorist violence is not evenly distributed across the globe. We know that incidents of terror are highly concentrated in a just a few regions of the world. Even when excluding the long-running insurgencies and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq, we observe that between one half and two-thirds of all...

The relationship between the Arab Gulf States and the United States of America is often misunderstood by observers and commentators, and even by the parties themselves at times.  The stereotypical description of the relationship is one of oil rich states providing the US and the West with necessary natural...

One of the key questions on analysts’ lips since the near-territorial defeat of the self-declared ‘caliphate’ across Iraq and Syria has been ‘Who will be the next ISIS?’. Prognosis has ranged from an exodus of cornered foreign fighters to far flung theatres, to a resurgent al-Qaeda retaking the reins...

There are over 1.8 billion youth in the world today. While there is no clear universal definition of “youth”, the 1.8 million includes individuals up to the age of 33. The percentage of youth in the global population is the largest in history, posing both challenges and opportunities for...

Children and young people suffer the most from the impact of war and in post conflict rebuilding.  According to a recent Save the Children report, children and young people are more at risk in conflict situations now, than they have been at any time in the last 20 years....

The Islamic State has lost almost all of its territory across Iraq and Syria. However, since 2014, it has underhandedly entered the Khorasan region, which covers territory in parts of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Officially established on 10 January 2015, the affiliate group is known as Islamic State-Khorasan Province...

Introduction Long considered a moderate Muslim country, Syria has become one of the world’s most radicalized conflict zones. Despite its peaceful and political origins, the civil-war has allowed Daesh and likeminded violent radical groups to turn the country into a recruiting ground and operating base. The significant local and...

The Agenda for Humanity has aimed to overcome the humanitarian – development divide for the sake of more responsibility and sustainability. A range of international institutions, such as FAO, UNHCR, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, to name a few, has been combining efforts to develop a common approach to achievement of...

To explain the troubles facing Iraq, whether violence, political stalemate, mass demonstrations, or other, a favorite explanatory variable is the various ethnic and religious cleavages found among the Iraqi population.  Recent crises belie that standard analytical paradigm.  An alternate analysis is that absent other overwhelming factors, Iraqi dysfunction and...