Today’s world is in unprecedented flux. Rights and citizenship are under assault. Authoritarianism is on the rise. Century International director Thanassis Cambanis talks with researchers and activists at the cutting edge of the crises of our times. Find our work at https://tcf.org/topics/century-international/.
Episodes
Tuesday Sep 25, 2018
Tuesday Sep 25, 2018
September’s mass protests in Basra shook Iraq’s government all the way to the top—and perhaps mark a new phase in Iraq’s popular politics. In a brief wave of demonstrations, residents of Basra attacked government buildings, militia headquarters, and the Iranian consulate: symbols of the corruption that has kept their city poor, polluted, and starved of public services, despite the fact that it produces most of Iraq’s oil.
Tamer El-Ghobashy covered the protests in Basra, and here discusses why Iraq’s second city reached a breaking point. He also reflects on the decidedly post-sectarian turn in Iraq’s dysfunctional politics. The mostly poor, mostly Shia residents of southern Iraq provided the rank-and-file fighters for the war against the Islamic State. Now, they want to see some improvement in their quality of life. The protests ended incumbent prime minister Haidar al-Abadi’s quest for another term. What impact will they have long-term on Iraq’s appalling governance?
Participants include:
- Tamer El-Ghobashy, Baghdad bureau chief, The Washington Post
- Thanassis Cambanis, senior fellow, The Century Foundation
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