COUNTRY PERSPECTIVE
The shortest useful version of how power works here.
The Council of Representatives is the central elected federal legislature and chooses the President.
The Council of Representatives is the central elected federal legislature and chooses the President. The President then designates a nominee for Prime Minister through the constitutional government-formation process, and the cabinet requires parliamentary approval.
Iraq's Constitution establishes a federal system and recognises regions with legislative, executive and judicial powers outside the exclusive competences of the federal government.
Iraq's Constitution establishes a federal system and recognises regions with legislative, executive and judicial powers outside the exclusive competences of the federal government. The Kurdistan Region is the principal existing federal region.
Post-2003 government formation has often relied on bargaining among parties and blocs associated with different communal, regional, ideological and patronage networks.
Post-2003 government formation has often relied on bargaining among parties and blocs associated with different communal, regional, ideological and patronage networks. This makes a single left–right scale particularly incomplete.
Politangle uses shared dimensions for comparison, but it does not force local politics into a left–right box when that would mislead.
Some political words change meaning across countries. These are the distinctions worth knowing first.
“Muhasasa” is commonly used for the post-2003 practice of distributing senior offices and influence among political or communal blocs.
“Muhasasa” is commonly used for the post-2003 practice of distributing senior offices and influence among political or communal blocs. It is a political practice rather than a formal left–right ideology and is debated inside Iraq.
Kurdish politics has its own party competition and institutional arena within the Kurdistan Region.
Kurdish politics has its own party competition and institutional arena within the Kurdistan Region. A federal party's position on Kurdish autonomy or disputed territories may tell you more about a coalition than its economic left–right label.
Enough structure to make the rest of the page intelligible.
Only the events that help explain how today’s system got here.
A military revolution ended the Hashemite monarchy and established a republic.
The Ba'ath Party dominated the state for decades, including the presidency of Saddam Hussein from 1979.
A US-led invasion overthrew the Ba'athist government and was followed by occupation, insurgency and construction of new political institutions.
Voters approved a Constitution establishing the current federal parliamentary framework and recognising the Kurdistan Region.
Current-data work still open: Current office holders and cabinet · Current legislature and party or coalition profiles · Latest national election and turnout · Comparable democracy, rights and civic-space indicators · Long-term indicator trends