Evaluating Political and Institutional Reforms in Iraq After the October 2019 Protests

Abstract

: In October 2019, Iraq witnessed large-scale protests led mainly by young people expressing their discontent with escalating corruption, poor public services, lack of social justice, and high unemployment rates. These protests reflected a deep crisis in the relationship between the state and society, prompting the political system to attempt to contain the situation by adopting a series of reform measures, including the resignation of the government, amendments to the electoral law, restructuring of the Independent High Electoral Commission, and the launch of several anti-corruption initiatives. The study adopts a descriptive–analytical approach, building on a theoretical framework that explains the concepts of protest, political reform, and institutional reform, and then using this framework to analyze the events of the October 2019 protests and to evaluate the reform policies that followed them. The analysis relies on constitutional and legal texts, official reports, and specialized academic studies.