The 2005 Iraqi Constitution put forward a shift in the Iraq state model from a centralized system to a decentralized fiscal federal model. This demanded the need for civil service workers in the provinces to learn new skills and for politicians to approach power relations in Iraq differently. What has happened since is a push and pull between the center and the periphery on different issues of centralized control and decentralized authorities. This talk will discuss the current state of play of Iraqi politics and federalism and how it got there, what state-building looks like in reality, and what role international organizations can play.
About the speaker
Mike Fleet is a Senior Researcher with the Institute on Governance, Mike works with the Iraq Team where he helps to implement the Fiscal Federalism, Decentralization and Resiliency Building Project. His research focus is on Iraqi politics, federalism, state-building, and conflict dynamics. Mike completed a Master of Arts degree in Global Governance from the Balsillie School of International Affairs at the University of Waterloo, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Memorial University of Newfoundland.
