1) "How to Cope with Iraq’s Summer Brushfire": Hot off the press from @CrisisGroup, our quick take on #Iraq's protests, and what the government should do, not just to calm things down, but to institute overdue reforms: bit.ly/2OuzoWk .../2
2) Popular protests, spawned by anger at the state’s inability to deliver essential services, have spread throughout southern Iraq and reached the capital, Baghdad. They are an annual occurrence but this year they are larger and more intense..../3
3) If the unrest is forcibly put down and citizens’ legitimate demands again go unmet, it is bound to recur before too long, but with still greater ferocity and, possibly, violence, threatening the post-2003 order and the ruling elites sustaining it..../4
4) Institutional reforms are long overdue. If the state sticks to its firefighting approach, it is likely at best to ignite further rounds of protests; at worst, it risks being usurped by a new strongman..../5
5) There is a much better third way forward: the new government, once it is seated, with the help of parliament and the full backing of the most senior religious authorities, should re-empower the judiciary and other independent oversight agencies..../6
6) ....to stamp out corruption, Iraq’s most dangerous foe. The protests should be regarded as a serious warning that the brushfire risks turning into a wildfire and engulfing the state. bit.ly/2OuzoWk /END
