The American invasion of Iraq in March 2003 toppled the brutal authoritarian government of Saddam Hussein, but unleashed a massive sectarian civil war that, as of late 2007, has no end in sight.

The Watson Institute has published the first two issues of Studies in Comparative International Development (SCID) under its editorial direction. SCID, published by Transaction Publishers, is an interdisciplinary journal on issues concerning political, social, and economic change in national, comparative, and international contexts.

The studies cover the the oil crisis and its impact on governments and their administration. They review why presidents fail, and analyse civil society growth an more...

The overview for the World Bank's 2007 World Development has been released. The new report has the theme: Development and the Next Generation. It centres on:

Part I
1 Youth, poverty reduction, and growth
Spotlight: Differing demographics
2 Opportunities, capabilities, second chances:
A framework for policy
Spotlight: A gender fi lter on the youth lens


Part II
Transitions
3 Learning for work and life
Spotlight: Vietnamese youth: Managing prosperity
4 Going to work
Spotlight: Do more...

Summary article of the depth report, "Iraq Force Development in 2006" by Anthony H. Cordesman and William D. Sullivan at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. This report looks at the development of Iraq’s security forces, amidst the growing insurgency across the country.

"Whatever government emerges from this tug of war, in other words, will be weak. This is a dangerous prospect in a country that balances on the brink of civil war. The irony is that neither Iran nor the US can afford to press their power struggle too far. Both support Iraq's territorial integrity, a principle threatened by spiraling conflict. If Tehran was indeed behind the Halabja demonstration that turned violent, it would be playing with fire by heightening tensions.Lets have a look at full s more...

A new global poll finds that in 33 of 35 countries surveyed, the most common view is that the war in Iraq has increased the likelihood of terrorist attacks around the world. On average, 60 percent of the respondents have this perception, while just 12 percent think the Iraq war has decreased the likelihood of terrorist attacks; another 15 percent think it has had no effect either way.

The poll of 41,856 people was conducted for the BBC World Service by the international polling firm GlobeSca more...

Arab foreign ministers promised their support for Iraq on April 12th in a gathering that was boycotted by the Iraqi government, angered by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's remarks that Iraqi Shi'ites are more loyal to Iran than their own country.

The Arab League called the meeting to work up ways to form a "united front" to help stabilize the country. But Mubarak's comments this weekend stoked concerns among Iraq's Shi'ite and Kurdish leaders that the Sunni-dominated league, which is based more...

By Kathleen Ridolfo, regional analyst for Iraq writes to disseminate the views on the current US-IRAN talks on the Iraq situation. "Several Iraqi politicians have expressed concern over proposed talks between the United States and Iran on the issue of Iraq's security. Some detractors have speculated that the issue of Iranian involvement in Iraq might become intertwined with the U.S.-Iran nuclear dispute, opening up the potential for Iraq to be sacrificed in any forthcoming agreement between the more...

The UN is appealing to Iraq’s neighbours to play a more constructive role in averting a worsening of sectarian violence through the establishment of a new “contact group“ of regional powers.
“Iraq’s stability is intrinsically linked to the stability in the region and vice versa,” Ashraf Qazi, the UN special representative for Iraq, told the Security Council this week.

According to this report, Iran's influence in Iraq today reportedly extends to all corners of the country but is most pervasive in the south. Iranian-backed militia consolidated their control over Al-Basrah by 2004. Now, they dominate the police, governorate council, security apparatuses, and even humanitarian organizations. The militias in the city have virtually eliminated local opposition. Now, minority Christians, Sunni Arabs, and secular Shi'ites are subjected to strict Islamic conduct in t more...