From 2004 to 2006, Abdulrahman worked as a special assistant to the representative of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (one of Iraq’s leading Kurdish political parties) in D.C., and later as the Deputy KRG Representative and PUK deputy representative from 2004 to 2009. He is currently working as a political commentator and has written extensively on … Read more
For a nation often referred to as the economic powerhouse of Europe, Germany has dealt with the global economic recession characteristically well. The nation currently boasts unemployment of just 6.6 percent, compared to 9.6 percent in the rest of the E.U. Further, Germany’s GDP growth of 3.6 percent remains substantially higher than any other developed … Read more
Throughout the 19th century, the United Kingdom and Russia engaged in the so-called “Great Game,” a strategic rivalry for influence over Central Asia. Today, the region’s location at the crossroads of two emerging superpowers, Russia and China, along with vast natural gas reserves, places the land west of the Caspian at the center of international … Read more
Ethnic tension in Nigeria may become Africa’s next big problem with the results of the 2011 presidential election. Nigeria made major strides in the presidential election held on April 16th. In comparison to 2007’s disaster election that international pundits claimed was “the worst they had ever seen anywhere in the world,” the 2011 election was … Read more
In a move that would further expand Australia’s progressive crackdown on tobacco marketing, the Australian legislature is looking to impose even harsher restrictions on the packaging of tobacco products sold in the land down under. Accompanying the recent $2 rise in cigarette costs, the new restrictions would alter the standardization of tobacco product packaging. In … Read more
Though largely underreported, significant policy changes have been effective at reducing violence in Brazil. Last month’s replacement of the head of the Civil Police in Rio de Janeiro by Martha Rocha, the first female chief in Rio, following corruption scandals implicating former chief José Mariano Beltrame, marks the most recent of five leadership turnovers in … Read more
This post is in response to a letter to the editor found in today’s Harvard Crimson. In response to our recent Crimson editorial, “Reclaiming Goldstone’s Missed Opportunity,” Abdelnasser Rashid writes today that “[i]n fact, Goldstone did not retract the most damning accusations of the more than 500-page report.” He dubs our characterization of Goldstone’s op-ed … Read more
At some point this weekend, I noticed a minor adjustment to Facebook’s front-page console: along with status updates, photos, links, and videos, the social network’s 500 million users have been given the option of asking popular “questions” to friends and general audiences. I’m not going to comment on the intricate, stochastic social dynamic behind Facebook … Read more
Protesters are being violently suppressed in Bahrain and Yemen, the Congo has had the bloodiest armed conflict since World War II, and Israel and Palestine have been bleeding each other for decades. Meanwhile, the international community has come together to devise a special formula that decides when it is time to intervene. I am in … Read more
Hakary Dzayi, an educator at Salahaddin University in Kurdistan and currently doing work with the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC), on sex trafficking in the Middle East. This interview was conducted via email. Harvard Political Review: What do you see as the major causes of sex trafficking in the Middle East today? What … Read more