Kifah Mahmood

On September 25, 2017, nearly 92 percent of voters in the Kurdistan Region cast their ballots in favor of independence, in a referendum conducted with remarkable order under the watch of international observers. However, the outcome collided head-on with the dual walls of geography and politics. …

The most dangerous societies are not those in which there are many thieves. Crime has been part of human life since the dawn of history, and no civilization or state has ever been free of it. The real danger begins when society’s view of theft itself changes and it is no longer seen as a…

The maturity of societies is not measured by the number of their constitutions or the multiplicity of their parties, but by their ability to recognize the other as an equal partner in the homeland. Constitutions can be easily written, but the harder task is for them to transform into a social…

Iran’s nuclear program is no longer merely an energy project or even a card in negotiations with the West. Over the years, it has become part of the psychological and political nucleus of the regime itself. Its survival seems tied to its success in safeguarding this “strategic achievement,” its…

A new narrative that deserves careful scrutiny is seeping into the debate over weapons in Iraq. The discussion is no longer about “disarming” the non-state actors that fall under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) but rather about “controlling” these weapons and “placing them…