Mako Discusses Political Crisis in Iraq in “Al Jazeera” Interview
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Shamiran Mako, Assistant Professor of International Relations at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, discusses the political situation in Iraq following the departure of Shiite leader Muqtada Al-Sadr.
In her remarks, Mako comments that while Sadr’s departure is part of a playbook we’ve seen before over the past few decades, this current departure appears to be part of a zero-sum game that has effectively held the government hostage. An Iraqi government has failed to take shape over the past 10 months resulting in a mass mobilization from both Sadr’s supporters and others. Mako speculates whether there is an opportunity for outside mediators to step in to help these groups form some sort of government.
Mako’s full interview can be viewed on Al Jazeera‘s website.
Shamiran Mako is an assistant professor of international relations at the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University. She is also a member of the Graduate Faculty at the Political Science Department at Boston University. Her research explores the historical and contemporary drivers of inter and intra-state conflicts that produce weak and fragile states across the MENA region. She is the author of After the Uprisings: Progress and Stagnation in the Middle East and North Africa, with Valentine Moghadam. Read more about Professor Mako on her faculty profile.