The Aftermath of the Elections in Iraq, or the One Year Long Process of Building a Governing Coalition

Abstract

The 2022 Iraqi elections have provided very important lessons for the evolution of the Iraqi political system. From the framework provided by the political system to the use of political violence, an extremely complex series of events took place over the course of a short year, the detailed understanding of which will help to reveal the attitudes and motivations of the country’s political elite towards the existing political system. The paper outlines the initial situation, describes the main actors and their background, and then describes the results of the elections and the main events of the political crisis that followed their announcement. It also provides context to the issue of foreign influence where relevant. The paper concludes that the Iraqi political system is unstable, but that it was not in the interests of any of the actors to break the framework and that, as a result, there was no prolonged use of violence.