Hayder Al Shakeri

Yanar Mohammed and Iraq’s Struggle for Gender Equality and Accountability - Middle East Centre On 2 March 2026, Iraqi feminist and human rights defender Yanar Mohammed was shot and killed outside her home in Baghdad by unidentified gunmen. Her assassination came just one day before so-called Ir...

Iraqi feminist activist Yanar Mohammed was shot and killed outside her home in Baghdad by unidentified gunmen the day before Iraqi Women’s Day. For the blog, @alktaif.bsky.social & @haydersh.bsky.social remember Yanar blogs.lse.ac.uk/mec/2026/03/...

Iraq 2025 election: Reform candidates pushed out by a system that rejects change Hopes that reform of Iraq’s political system would be possible from within have been dashed by the poor electoral performance of candidates associated with the Tishreen protest movement.

🇮🇶 | Hopes that Iraq’s political system could be reformed have been dashed by the poor electoral performance of candidates associated with the Tishreen protest movement.

Read @haydersh.bsky.social's latest analysis for Chatham House⤵️

Oversight is optional: How Iraqi democracy is being hollowed out The posters are new, the promises familiar, but the political parties law of 2015 sits idle, allowing money and militias to define who competes, and wins

Iraq’s 2015 Political Parties Law was designed to regulate campaign financing & party ties to armed groups — but it’s never been enforced.

In The New Arab, @haydersh.bsky.social explains how this leaves Iraq’s democracy suspended between legality & impunity.
www.newarab.com/analysis/ove...

Deep Dive: Iraq’s civic parties face uphill battle in upcoming elections Once poised to  dominate Iraq’s political future, figures and parties emerging from the October (Tishreen) 2019 protest movement now face widespread public apathy. These declining fortunes follow a pr...

In this @amwajmedia.bsky.social, @haydersh.bsky.social explains how 4 years after Tishreen-linked MPs entered parliament, reform efforts have stalled. Structural and organisational barriers kept them sidelined, while entrenched elites continue to control the system.

amwaj.media/en/article/w...

Iraq’s Leader Seeks an Improbable Prize: Independence From the U.S. and Iran Mohammed Shia al-Sudani is running for re-election Tuesday after managing to keep his country out of the region’s recent conflicts.

A key factor in this election is the political and economic influence of armed groups, which have managed to retain their power as the state has yet to demonstrate full capacity or will to enforce broad disarmament, says @haydersh.bsky.social in @wsj.com.

www.wsj.com/world/middle...

Informal cross-border trade has expanded significantly over the past decade [in Iraq] as sanctions on Iran have increasingly impacted everyday life, says @haydersh.bsky.social via @afpnews.bsky.social and Arab News.

www.arabnews.com/node/2596773...

📣 Announcing the 2025 #IraqInitiative Conference!

Join us on 1 October @chathamhouse.org & online for our 7th annual conference to explore how Iraq can secure more lasting stability and economic resilience in an era of regional and global uncertainty.

Carbon credits: another way to delay meaningful action on climate change in Iraq - Kalam In February 2025, Iraq’s Ministry of Environment announced the first project to be launched by the Carbon Economics Company, a collaboration with the World

'Rather than ushering in a new era of sustainability for Iraq... it appears that carbon credits will only align with a national policy of delaying & obstructing meaningful action on climate change,' writes @alktaif.bsky.social in a new Iraq Initiative article.
kalam.chathamhouse.org/articles/car...

Well that’s a headline I did not except to see. Ever.

New US attacks on the Houthis will not bring Iran to the negotiating table – but could provoke worse violence The Houthis are the one member of the Axis of Resistance that grew stronger over the last year. But airstrikes will not deter their attacks on Red Sea shipping or influence Tehran.

The Houthis are the one part of the Axis of Resistance that grew stronger in the last year. Airstrikes will not deter attacks on Red Sea shipping or influence Iran.

Check out our latest research paper exploring the adaptability of the 'Axis of Resistance' by examining its historical evolution, current dynamics, and policy responses, while presenting alternative approaches for engagement.

How Iraq’s $17B Megaproject Plans to Bypass the Suez Canal | WSJ Breaking Ground YouTube video by The Wall Street Journal

📺 'Because of the relative stability in the last few years in Iraq, this project presents an opportunity to gain some autonomy and to gain some power.'

@renadmansour.bsky.social speaks to @wsj.com about Iraq's plans to construct an alternative to the Suez Canal ⤵️
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OypN...

Check out our latest research paper exploring the adaptability of the 'Axis of Resistance' by examining its historical evolution, current dynamics, and policy responses, while presenting alternative approaches for engagement.

The shape-shifting ‘axis of resistance’ How Iran and its networks adapt to external pressures

The setbacks faced by Iran's 'axis of resistance' in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria has led some policymakers to conclude that Iran and its allies are severely weakened.

New research by @chmenap.bsky.social reveals Iran and its network is adapting to the new strategic landscape in the Middle East.

The shape-shifting ‘axis of resistance’ How Iran and its networks adapt to external pressures

Read the full research paper by @renadmansour.bsky.social, @haydersh.bsky.social and @haidhaid22.bsky.social for an in-depth examination of the axis of resistance resiliance and the policy approaches needed to counter it. 9/9
www.chathamhouse.org/2025/03/shap...

The shape-shifting ‘axis of resistance’ How Iran and its networks adapt to external pressures

📢NEW PAPER by @chathamhouse.bsky.social XCEPT Research

'The shape-shifting ‘axis of resistance’: How Iran and its networks adapt to external pressures' by @renadmansour.bsky.social, @haydersh.bsky.social & @haidhaid22.bsky.social.🧵
www.chathamhouse.org/2025/03/shap...

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Iraq and the new Syria: Navigating ties in the post-Assad era Iraq has extremely high stakes in Syria as it seeks to adapt to the post-Assad era by balancing internal politics and external regional pressures.

The removal of Assad disrupts a key channel for Iranian influence increasing Tehran’s reliance on Iraqi proxies. This intensifies Baghdad’s efforts to assert control over armed groups & prevent unchecked interference, @haydersh.bsky.social via @thenewarab.bsky.social
www.newarab.com/analysis/ira...

Postcard from Baghdad: How climate activists are turning the ‘Tishreen dream’ green The 2019 uprising ended violently, but young people’s fight for a better future carries on. Hayder Al Shakeri meets the activists adopting new tactics to tackle Iraq’s most pressing challenge yet.

“By offering a relatively safe entry point into Iraq’s public debate, climate activism has become a gateway for broader civic engagement.”

Good read from @haydersh.bsky.social. Climate activism can help spur better governance in Iraq and the wider region.
www.chathamhouse.org/publications...

The Fall of Assad’s Syria In the wake of President Bashar al-Assad’s remarkable abdication of power, jubilation and fear collide as the country—and the region—faces an uncertain future.

My quick look at the momentous news from #Syria, for @newyorker.com www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...

As Syria’s notorious prisons empty, families search for the missing Tens of thousands of Syrians disappeared into Assad’s network of brutal prisons. After his downfall, families are finally hoping for news of their loved ones.

There was no place more feared in Assad’s Syria than Sednaya Military Prison. By Sunday, the guards had fled, its doors were flung open and this fortress of terrified silence was alive with the sounds of parents and children calling out for their missing. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/1...

Interesting discussions at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain.

Thanks to the International Institute for Strategic Studies and especially to the Young Leaders Programme for having me. #IISSMD24 #MDYoungLeaders

Iraq’s Newfound Stability Is About to Be Tested Iraq has appeared relatively stable under PM Sudani and the ruling SCF in recent years. But that stability remains precarious.

Iraq has appeared relatively stable under PM Sudani and the ruling SCF in recent years.

But that stability remains precarious, making the coming year pivotal for the country, @renadmansour.bsky.social writes.

How supply chains fuel transnational conflict in the Middle East Transnational conflict in the Middle East is fuelled by both ‘legal’ and ‘illegal’ trade. Mapping these cross-border dynamics can help understand and address violent conflict.

Fascinating, innovative mapping of the relationship between supply chains & conflict in the Levant by Hayder El-Shakeri and Renad Mansour:

www.chathamhouse.org/2024/11/how-...

How supply chains fuel transnational conflict in the Middle East Transnational conflict in the Middle East is fuelled by both ‘legal’ and ‘illegal’ trade. Mapping these cross-border dynamics can help understand and address violent conflict.

Transnational conflict in the Middle East is fuelled by both ‘legal’ and ‘illegal’ trade. Mapping these cross-border dynamics can help understand and address violent conflict.

It was great to moderate a panel on the current situation of the Iraqi economy at the sixth #IraqInitiative Conference at @chathamhouse.bsky.social