Department of Politics and International Relations
- Politics and International Relations
- About our research
- Current research projects
- Iraq after ISIS: governance, transitional justice, and post-war recovery
Iraq after ISIS: governance, transitional justice, and post-war recovery
Researchers: Dr Jacob Eriksson
Funders: The C & JB Morrell Trust through the 'Justice and Equality' University research theme
Grant amount: £2,500
Project dates: January 2018 - August 2019
The research investigates the governance and transitional justice challenges that Iraq faces following the military campaign against ISIS. The emergence of ISIS was rooted in the failure of state-building in post-2003 Iraq, and therefore it is necessary to analyse the political and social problems that the Iraqi state currently faces in order to avoid repeated conflict and the re-emergence of extremism in another form. If the grievances that led many Sunnis to join ISIS are not addressed, Iraq will continue to face an ongoing insurgency and repeated conflict.
Key issues the research aims to examine include: addressing grievances regarding political and social equality among different sectarian groups; governance arrangements, including in territories disputed between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the central government in Baghdad; and access to transitional justice for crimes committed by all sides in the campaign. What is the potential for renewed conflict if these concerns are not addressed, and what potentially new conflicts might emerge by addressing them?