The media landscape in Iraq's Kurdistan Region is dominated by outlets affiliated with political parties. As a result, media coverage largely promotes the interests of politically motivated patrons, rather than performing a public service mission of providing impartial and high-quality information.
Recent statements from Turkish authorities and increasing PKK attacks on Turkish soldiers in Iraq point to fresh tensions between Ankara and the Patriotic.
The PUK, a major ruling party in Iraqi Kurdistan, has started its fifth conference amidst significant internal disagreements, creating a turbulent political atmosphere.
Efforts to reform the Iraqi Kurdish security forces known as the Peshmerga are at serious risk of failing. Tensions between the ruling parties of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region are not new, but the working relationship between the leaders of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan has collapsed over the past year. As a result, officials within the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs are no longer capable of preventing the politics of partisan self-interest from consuming the reform project. The prospects for the depoliticization and unification of the Peshmerga have rarely seemed more remote.
The tensions between Turkey and the PUK are not new, though recent actions by both sides have exacerbated the situation despite shared economic interests.