Republic of Iraq

Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia, bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, Kuwait to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the southwest, and Syria to the west.

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Geopolitical profile

Geopolitical position:

Position on the geopolitical map:

Iraq belongs to Rimland.

Iraq is key part of Middle East space.

Iraq is shatterbelt (according to S. Cohen nomenclature)

Geopolitical balance:

Iraq cinsists from three geopolitical and ethnosociological parts:

Kurdistan (North) - sunni, indoeuropean people (close to Iranians)

Sunni arabs (Middle) typoligicxally close to Syrian sunni arabs and Saudian Arabie sunni arabs (now under dominance of ISIS, slafi and wahhabi ideology)

Shiah arabs (close to Iranian shiah regime)

Main geopolitical allies:

Now Iraq is under USA occupation that deals with all three parts with differenet approach:

1. direct help to kurds (goal is the creation of independent Kurdistan)

2. control over sunni fighters through Saudites and Qatar

3. direct presence in Shiah area where USA army participates in local battles with ISIS

Opponents:

During Saddam Hussein era main ennemy of Iraq was Iran.

Now country is rather divided by inner contradictions

Neutrality:

Iraq is rather neutral State

Sphere of national interest.:

Kuweit is considered as natural part of Iraq and artificial English creation. But the direct intervention in Kuweit has costed to Saddam Hussein the post and life provoking USA intrusion in Iraq and its occupation by Americans.

In Saddams era Iraq claimed the control over some Iranian terrotiries peopled by ethnic arabs and sunnis.

International disputes:

THere is nothing of the kind right now.

Ethnosociology:

Ethnical structure:

The main ethnosociological groups are:

sunni arabs

shiah arabs

kurds

assyrians (christians)

yezidis (kurdish subgroup)

turkoman (North)

Religious structure:

sunni arabs

shiah arabs

sunni kurds

yezidi kurds

assyrians christians 15%

turkomans

Languages:

Arabic

Ethnical identity:

etnic groups

arabs (tribes)
kurds
subethnic groups

arabs - shia / sunni division

kurds - Barzani Erbil, Talabani / Suleymania, yezidi division

assyrians

turkomans

Nationlal_identity:

civil society (very weak - almost absent)

national identity (very weak now was strong during Baathist era)

people's (laos) identity is complicated

Kurds are the people considerning itself as divided living in four State - non of them is kurdish - Syria, Turkey, Iran and Iraq
Sunni arabs as a people united by salafist ideology - new concept promoted by jihadist groups bsed on Saudi Arabie and Qatar
Shiah as a people - shiah politico-religious concept created by shiah ayatollahs (Iranian, Iraqian and Lebanese) starting from 30-s XX century.
Assyrian people - united by Christian confession

etnic groups

arabs (tribes)
kurds

subethnic groups

arabs - shia / sunni division

kurds - Barzani Erbil, Talabani / Suleymania, yezidi division

assyrians

Individual (Civil Society):

underdevelopped (practically absent)

Ethnic map:

Political Ideology:

Political schema :

Three people - three idologies

kurdish nationalism (united secular, national-communist and islamic - moderated and radical sunni types)

political sunnism - salafism ISIS version of radical sunnins (al- Baghdadi)

political shiism - mahdist concept - more manifested by Sadr (Mahdi army) , moderated version ayatallah Sistani

Geoeconomy:

Economical descriprtion:

Iraq has oil-centric economy. Main resources are localized in North (Kurdistan).

Agriculture and water resources are as well mostly in the kurdish North

Geostrategy:

Geostrategy description:

Iraq is key space in Middle East.

Its borders with Syria, Turkey, Iran and Arab sunni world makes it of the crucial importance for geostrategy.

USA is ennemy of Iran, of syrian President Assad, formal ennemy of ISIS and the relations with Turkey are considerably worsened. So the control over Iraq above all over kurdish territories becomes the main goal of USA strategy in the Middle East.

Russian influence in the zone is diminished that makes the Russian position vulnerable.

Values structure:

Marginal notes:

traditional society

nationalist tendencies (earlier in ba'athist pan-arabist leftist form later in kurdish nationalism plus political islam - sunni and shiah versions)

Transnational organizations:

Transnational description:

ONU

National profile

Geography:

Border countries:

Islamic Republic of Iran

Climate:

Most of Iraq has a hot arid climate with subtropical influence. Summer temperatures average above 40 °C (104 °F) for most of the country and frequently exceed 48 °C (118.4 °F). Winter temperatures infrequently exceed 21 °C (69.8 °F) with maxima roughly 15 to 19 °C (59.0 to 66.2 °F) and night-time lows 2 to 5 °C (35.6 to 41.0 °F). Typically, precipitation is low; most places receive less than 250 mm (9.8 in) annually, with maximum rainfall occurring during the winter months. Rainfall during the summer is extremely rare, except in the far north of the country. The northern mountainous regions have cold winters with occasional heavy snows, sometimes causing extensive flooding.

Terrain::

437,072 km2

Contiguous zone:

All sunni zone as wall as territories to the West from Mosul are undefined being partly by ISIS control that is regarded by international community as terrorist organization

Natural resources and ecology:

Environment - current issues::

Water supply and sanitation in Iraq is characterized by poor water and service quality. Three decades of war, combined with limited environmental awareness, have destroyed Iraq's water resources management system. Access to potable water differs significantly among governorates and between urban and rural areas. 91% of the entire population has access to potable water. But in rural areas, only 77% of the population has access to improved drinking water sources compared to 98% in urban areas. Also, large amounts of water are wasted during production.

People:

Total population::

38146025

Urbanization::

1 Baghdad Baghdad 9,500,000

2 Basra Basra 2,300,125
3 Mosul Ninawa 2,000,000
4 Arbil Arbil 1,100,000
5 Kirkuk Kirkuk 1,100,000
6 Sulaymaniya Sulaymaniya 1,000,000
7 Hilla Babil 1,000,000
8 Karbala Karbala 800,347
9 Najaf Najaf 800,137
10 Al Nasiriya Dhi Qar 700,373

Economy:

GDP:

$612 billion

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$16,551

Distribution of family income - Gini index::

29.5

low

Politics:

Head of state (PM for parliamentary republics)::

Haider al-Abadi

Government type::

Parlamentarian Republic

Fuad Masum (kurd sunni) - President

Haider al-Abadi (arab shiah) Prime Minister

The federal government of Iraq is defined under the current Constitution as a democratic, federal parliamentary Islamic republic. The federal government is composed of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as numerous independent commissions. Aside from the federal government, there are regions (made of one or more governorates), governorates, and districts within Iraq with jurisdiction over various matters as defined by law.

The National Alliance is the main Shia parliamentary bloc, and was established as a result of a merger of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's State of Law Coalition and the Iraqi National Alliance. The Iraqi National Movement is led by Iyad Allawi, a secular Shia widely supported by Sunnis. The party has a more consistent anti-sectarian perspective than most of its rivals.The Kurdistan List is dominated by two parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party led by Masood Barzani and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan headed by Jalal Talabani. Both parties are secular and enjoy close ties with the West.

In 2010, according to the Failed States Index, Iraq was the world's seventh most politically unstable country. The concentration of power in the hands of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and growing pressure on the opposition led to growing concern about the future of political rights in Iraq.Nevertheless, progress was made and the country had risen to 11th place by 2013. In August 2014, al-Maliki's reign came to an end. He announced on 14 August 2014 that he would stand aside so that Haider Al-Abadi, who had been nominated just days earlier by newly installed President Fuad Masum, could take over. Until that point, al-Maliki had clung to power even asking the federal court to veto the president's nomination describing it as a violation of the constitution.

Transparency International ranks Iraq's government as the eighth-most-corrupt government in the world. Government payroll have increased from 1 million employees under Saddam Hussein to around 7 million employees in 2016. In combination with decreased oil prices, the government budget deficit is near 25% of GDP as of 2016.

Since the establishment of the no–fly zones following the Gulf War of 1990–1991, the Kurds established their own autonomous region.

Administrative divisions::

Dohuk
Nineveh
Erbil
Kirkuk
Sulaymaniyah
Saladin
Al Anbar
Baghdad
Diyala
Karbala
Babil
Wasit
Najaf
Al-Qādisiyyah
Maysan
Muthanna
Dhi Qar
Basra
Halabja

Iraqi Kurdistan (Erbil, Dohuk, Sulaymaniyah and Halabja) is the only legally defined region within Iraq, with its own government and quasi-official army Peshmerga.

Military and special services:

Manpower available for military service::

Iraqi security forces are composed of forces serving under the Ministry of Interior (which controls the Police and Popular Mobilization Forces) and the Ministry of Defense, as well as the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Bureau, reporting directly to the Prime Minister of Iraq, which oversees the Iraqi Special Operations Forces. Ministry of Defense forces include the Iraqi Army, the Iraqi Air Force and the Iraqi Navy. The Peshmerga are a separate armed force loyal to the Kurdistan Regional Government. The regional government and the central government disagree as to whether they are under Baghdad's authority and to what extent.

The Iraqi Army is an objective counter-insurgency force that as of November 2009 includes 14 divisions, each division consisting of 4 brigades. It is described as the most important element of the counter-insurgency fight. Light infantry brigades are equipped with small arms, machine guns, RPGs, body armour and light armoured vehicles. Mechanized infantry brigades are equipped with T-54/55 main battle tanks and BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles.As of mid-2008, logistical problems included a maintenance crisis and ongoing supply problems.

The Iraqi Air Force is designed to support ground forces with surveillance, reconnaissance and troop lift. Two reconnaissance squadrons use light aircraft, three helicopter squadrons are used to move troops and one air transportation squadron uses C-130 transport aircraft to move troops, equipment, and supplies. It currently has 3,000 personnel. It is planned to increase to 18,000 personnel, with 550 aircraft by 2018.

The Iraqi Navy is a small force with 1,500 sailors and officers, including 800 Marines, designed to protect shoreline and inland waterways from insurgent infiltration. The navy is also responsible for the security of offshore oil platforms. The navy will have coastal patrol squadrons, assault boat squadrons and a marine battalion.The force will consist of 2,000 to 2,500 sailors by year 2010.

Bases of foreign countries on national territory::

USA military bases - North (Erbil), South (Bagdad)

Turkish bases (North)

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Republic of Iraq

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