The IISS Middle East and Gulf Security Programme
On Monday 15 March 2010 Dr Toby Dodge, IISS Consulting Senior Fellow for the Middle East, will speak on “The future of Iraqi politics after the national elections of March 7th” from 5.30-6pm at Bloomsbury House.
On March 7th Iraq will go to the polls to elect its second full-term government since the invasion of 2003. This is a crucial time for the future of Iraqi politics. The American-Iraqi Status of Forces Agreement and President Obama’s election promises have meant all US troops were removed from Iraq’s towns in June 2009. President Obama is currently committed to removing all US combat forces from the country by August this year. Finally, Article 24 of the American-Iraqi agreement goes much further, unambiguously stating that ‘All US forces are to withdraw from all Iraqi territory, water and airspace no later than 31 December, 2011’. So the elections of 7th March will choose a new Iraqi government that will steer Iraq into its post-invasion future.
Toby Dodge will examine how the election campaign unfolded, what the provisional results say about current and future politics and what this means both for the lives of ordinary Iraqis, the wider region and the international community’s interaction with the Iraqi state.
Dr Toby Dodge is the Senior Consulting Fellow for the Middle East at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He also teaches Middle East Politics at Queen Mary, University of London. His new book, The future of Iraq: beyond civil war and counter-insurgency, will be published by the IISS in the autumn.
This discussion will be chaired by Adam Ward, Director of Studies at the IISS and will take place in the Virginia Woolf Conference Room at Bloomsbury House. Please note that there are no lifts or disabled access.
If you would like to attend, please RSVP Kelly Signorelli-Chaplin at: currentevents@iiss.org.
