The Costs of Inadequacy: Violence and Elections in Iraq

Iraq is currently witnessing the highest levels of violence since 2008 and with the failure to adequately adjust the election laws the ethnic and sectarian violence is only set to increase following the 2014 elections. This paper examines the core political factors that have contributed to the escalation of violence and the intensification of the conflict following the last national elections in 2010. It also analyses potential changes to the election laws that could solve many of the issues highlighted and thus reverse the escalation of violence.