Project Partners

Henry L. Stimson Center

Background

The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI - Canada) and the Stimson Center (Washington, DC), convinced of a strong link between Iraqi reconstruction, security and a political process of national reconciliation involving all Iraqis, have launched a series of activities to shape a better understanding of the Iraqi dilemma and to encourage dialogue between concerned actors.

This project partnership, entitled Iraq’s New Reality, is co-chaired by CIGI Senior Visiting Fellow Ambassador Mokhtar Lamani (former Arab League Special Envoy to Iraq) and Stimson Center President & CEO Ellen Laipson. The project includes a series of workshops being held in both Canada and the United States examining several specific issues, which will lead up to a field mission to the region and a final conference in March 2010. These workshops are gathering leading experts on a selection of key issues and will produce a series of short briefs summarizing the discussions and offering recommendations to parties involved in the Iraq situation.

Project Activities

Workshop June 2009 - Hosted in Waterloo, Canada, and focusing on the humanitarian aspects of the Iraqi crisis; refugees, minorities, the Iraqi brain drain, the failure of returnee policies, sectarianism in the Iraqi system and the shifting priorities of the international community.

Workshop August 2009 - Hosted in Washington, D.C., and focusing on the security issues affecting the situation in Iraq; its conditions on the ground, US and Iraqi perspectives on SOFA implementation, Iraq’s role in regional security and the implications for the future of Iraq.

Workshops October 2009 - Two workshops were hosted at the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa. The first focused on institutional issues associated with systems of governance, particularly the positions of Iraqi groups vis à vis the federal system. Immediately following that workshop, a separate workshop focusing on the US-Iraq relationship took place.

Workshop December 2009 -  The final workshop took place in December 2009 in Washington, DC and examined the regional dimensions of the situation in Iraq– its relations with its Arab neighbours; cultural and economic dynamics in the region; and its role in the international community.

Field Mission 2010 - Following the workshop series, a short field mission to the region will explore different Iraqi views.

Final Conference 2010 - Ultimately, the project aims to host a larger conference in March 2010, based on the outcomes of the workshop series and the field mission, to explore Iraq’s new realities and prospects for stability.