What began as a unified Kurdish struggle for autonomy has evolved into a fundamental disagreement over how the Kurdistan Region should relate to federal Iraq. • Today, two broad paradigms define how Iraqi Kurds think about their place in Iraq: thenationalcontext.com/two-visions-ho…

Can the PKK Peace Process Survive if Ocalan Maintains Strategic Ambiguity on the SDF? Bahçeli says the peace commission should meet with Ocalan, but with one condition: ask him to issue a clear statement calling on SDF to integrate into the Syrian army. thenationalcontext.com/can-the-pkk-pe…

Leaked Files Expose the Barzani Brothers’ $100M U.S. Property Spree • The investigation by OCCRP covers only the assets directly proven to be owned by Masrour, Muksi, and Mustafa; it does not include holdings believed to be held through proxies. thenationalcontext.com/leaked-files-e…

Nechirvan Barzani has phoned Mazloum Abdi ahead of his meeting with Erdoğan • The timing of the call strongly suggests that Nechirvan is acting as an interlocutor to help establish more direct communication and understanding between the SDF and Ankara. thenationalcontext.com/nechirvan-barz…

Verbal Agreements, No Roadmap: SDF and Damascus Circle the March 10 Deal • A settlement remains possible, but the core differences between the SDF and the Syrian government are as wide as they were in March. thenationalcontext.com/verbal-agreeme…

The new reports circulating in Syrian and Arab media claiming that the SDF agreed to hand over state assets in east Deir Ez-Zor to the Syrian government were denied by SDF commander Mazloum Abdi. However, the idea has been around since July, as we reported then, and is not new:

Voter turnout among Iraq's Kurdistan constituents has decreased from 95% in the first post-Saddam election to 35.7% in the most recent cycle, while Kurdish parliamentary representation has dropped from 27% (amid Sunni boycott) to 19% of total seats. thenationalcontext.com/portal/kurdish…

Damascus and the SDF sketch terms for integration as talks intensify SDF commander Mazloum Abdi says Damascus and the SDF have reached a “preliminary understanding” on how to fold the Kurdish-led force into Syrian state structures: existing SDF units would be re-badged under

Foza Yûsif, senior Syrian Kurdish official to Welat Agency: “If Turkey recognizes the Kurds’ democratic rights, this could pave the way, within contemporary parameters, for renewing the National Pact (Misak-ı Millî). That’s why we say: instead of making threats, let’s resolve our

Syria–SDF Talks Intensify But Core Disputes Make a Breakthrough Elusive • Al-Sharaa is unlikely to accept the SDF’s demands but may prefer maintaining an ambiguous status quo to risking a protracted conflict that could destabilize his grip on power. thenationalcontext.com/syria-sdf-talk…

Iraqi Elections: Tribal Alliances, Party Machines and Big Money Fuel Anbar’s Fiercest Election Battle • Al-Samarrai has spent the past year stitching together a formidable tribal alliance, reinforcing it with substantial campaign financing. thenationalcontext.com/tribal-allianc…

Syria–SDF Talks Intensify But Core Disputes Over Governance and Military Integration Block Breakthrough Context: SDF commander Mazloum Abdi told AFP that the parties have reached a “preliminary agreement” to reorganize the SDF into three military corps and integrate Asayîş

Iraqi Parliamentary Election: Kurdistan Region Seat Projections for Major Political Forces • This report includes seat predictions based on the parties’ historical voting patterns and their current positions across Kurdish-populated constituencies. thenationalcontext.com/iraqi-parliame…

Kurdish Party Candidates for November Iraqi Elections The KDP also has two candidates in Diyala and Salah al-Din provinces, running on Sunni Arab leader Muthanna al-Samarrai‘s “Azm” list. The KDP also supports a Feyli Kurdish list in Baghdad, which has nominated approximately 30

Iraqi Parliamentary Election: Kurdish Parties’ Seat Projections Based on Historical Voting Patterns and Current Electoral Prospects According to these predictions and given the Saint-Laguë electoral system, smaller parties stand to lose significantly while larger parties are

Three Divisions or Three Corps? Damascus and SDF Give Conflicting Accounts • Senior Syrian Kurdish officials insist the SDF would integrate into the army as three “corps,” while pro-government sources insist they’ve agreed on “three divisions.” thenationalcontext.com/three-division…

From our April article: Spheres of Influence: Turkey, Israel, and the Future of Northeast Syria To fully grasp the scale of this geopolitical choreography, one must view it as part of an emerging regional grand bargain - one that may also involve the future of Gaza, Turkey’s

A Full Year After Kurdistan’s Regional Elections, Government Formation Remains Stalled • This makes Kurdistan the only state or federal region in the world where elections were held in 2024 but no government has yet been formed as of late 2025. thenationalcontext.com/a-year-after-k…