Post-Daesh Challenges to Stabilisation in Iraq

On 14 September, RUSI, the University of Exeter and the University of Birmingham, through ESRC funding, hosted a roundtable aimed at discussing the stabilisation in and challenges facing Iraq after Daesh (also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS). The conference was timely as it took place a month before the operation to liberate Mosul from Daesh.

This report summarises the major conclusions and talking points of the discussion, which focused mainly on five key topics: the legacy of the past; the technical challenges for the provision of security; the role of religion and sectarianism; the role of regional powers; and the battle of Mosul. The roundtable triggered an in-depth discussion on the issues related to the post-Daesh challenges to stabilisation in Iraq, including sectarianism, violent extremism and the interference of regional powers in Iraq’s domestic affairs.

Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi is a Research Fellow in International Security Studies at RUSI.

Aaditya Dave is a Research Intern in International Security Studies at RUSI.

Gareth Stansfield is Professor of Middle East Politics at the university of Exeter, and a Senior
Associate Fellow of RUSI.

Stefan Wolff is Professor of International Security at the University of Birmingham and an
Associate Fellow of RUSI. His expertise is in the international management of intra-state conflict
and war-to-peace transitions.

ERRATUM: The authorship of this report was updated on 7 December 2016.