Why Kirkuk Matters

• Albert Charara ^[1]
  1. [1] Universitat de Barcelona

     Universitat de Barcelona

     Barcelona, España

     
• Localización: Notes internacionals CIDOB, ISSN-e 2013-4428, Nº. 197, 2018, págs. 1-5
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen

  • The third Iraqi elections since the end of the US occupation arrive in a context of slow but progressive recovery of Iraq and its institutions.

    The formation of a coalition government is likely to take months, crippling the provision of public services and slowing down reconstruction and reconciliation efforts.

    Fragmentation is being met with rising cross-sectarian tendencies in all major lists. It is a new, promising phenomenon that might modulate ethnic and sectarian cleavages and encourage new multi-party dynamics beyond identity politics.

    Kirkuk will certainly be present at the bargaining table for the creation of a coalition federal government.

    Kurds often refer to Kirkuk as their Jerusalem. For Arabs, having Kirkuk under Baghdad’s control represents Iraqi unity.

    As for the Turkmen, Kirkuk is a symbol of their position as a significant ethnicity in Iraq.

    According to some experts, the implementation of a special status for Kirkuk would alleviate sectarian grievances and legitimise local leadership, providing the time and context needed to start working towards a locally compromised solution for the status of the province.

    The federal government of Iraq and the KRG engaged in a contest over the control of Kirkuk’s oil.

    The lack of a coordinated electoral strategy in the main political Kurdish parties will certainly diminish their influence in Baghdad.