| Summary/Abstract |
The invasion of northwestern Iraq by the Sunni-extremist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) and the subsequent mobilization of Shia militias mark the latest challenge in Iraq's ongoing struggle to forge long-term stability. The primary driver of this crisis is not stagnating socioeconomic development or an acute lack of services, prominent issues in other countries in the region. Rather, it is a sectarian divide widened by political jockeying over national power sharing, and executive-level provocation of Iraq's Sunnis through opaque arrest campaigns and heavy-handed dispersals of protests. While ISIL's incursion reflects a confluence of political deficiencies and security fragility, the long-term solution to these challenges cannot be similarly confined to immediate military or political remedies. The government will not recover without undertaking steps towards reconciliation, through inclusive reforms, as well as maintaining and improving functionality for all of its citizens.
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