The origins of this mafia class can be traced back to the power vacuum the US invasion of Iraq created in 2003. 20 years later, its influence is pervasive and its presence aggravating.

After the Iraq-Iran war concluded in 1988, a significant turn of events took place that would lead to Saddam's decision to invade Kuwait

Al Majalla gathers the thoughts of writers and artists on the strange silence in the country's cultural discourse on climate change – with the country one of the most directly affected in the world.

Riyadh significantly contributed to Iraq's move to openness via soft economic intervention. Hesham Alghannam's personal account of a trip to Baghdad shows what this means for Iraq and the region.

First, IS took their right to make decisions away from them but now various armed groups operating in the area do so as well

The human cost and development disasters caused by the August invasion in 1990 remain after Kuwait became hooked on high public spending to recover. Financial and economic reform is needed.

As Gulf states continue to draw inspiration from Kuwait's political system, adopting that which works and avoiding what doesn't, Kuwait can learn from its neighbours' assertiveness and development

Yet another "insult" to Muslims in Sweden by an Iraqi refugee has proven the tipping point for already tense relations with the Scandinavian nation, complicating diplomacy and politics abroad

Worsening water scarcity threatens much of the Arab world as Iraq struggles to plan for the future

An Israeli-Russian researcher's reported abduction in central Baghdad in March has drawn international attention but unsolved kidnappings have long plagued Iraq