Iraq’s Last Chance to Beat the Oil Curse: Lessons for the Arab Spring (Event Video)

Iraq’s Last Chance to Beat the Oil Curse: Lessons for the Arab Spring

The Arab Spring has grabbed the world’s attention, yet Iraq—the Arab country that not long ago was the very epicenter of American foreign policy—has almost entirely fallen off the front pages. While Iraq’s security has improved greatly, the country is still struggling to consolidate a functional government and come up with a coherent spending plan for its oil wealth. In a new CGD working paper, “Iraq’s Last Window: Diffusing the Risks of a Petro-State,” Johnny West, a longtime journalist in the Middle East and author of the recent book, Karama! Journeys through the Arab Spring, identifies a new opportunity for direct distribution of Iraqi oil rents that he argues could halve poverty, diversify the economy and cement territorial integrity by giving Iraqis a stake in their oil wealth. The event will feature a brief presentation of the paper by West, followed by a discussion with a distinguished panel.

Event Video

Featuring Author

Johnny West, Journalist and Founder of Open Oil


Discussants


Peter McPherson, Former USAID Administrator and Director of Economic Policy for the Coalition Provisional Authority of Iraq


Abderrahim Foukara, Al Jazeera Washington Bureau Chief

Andy Baukol, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Africa and the Middle East


Hosted by
Todd Moss, Vice President for Programs and Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development