Ethno-sectarian politics in Iraq – a weekly news review

This week saw the first provincial elections in Iraq in ten years. The ethno-sectarian nature of Iraqi politics seems to be taken for granted, but how did it get this way and what are the implications? What is the background and significance of the Kurdish vote in Kirkuk, and how did the Yazidis vote in Nineveh? This review also looks at recent diplomatic meetings between Iraq and Turkey, and between Turkey and Iran; at the Syrian Democratic Council conference; and at the forces trying to destabilise North and East Syria. It looks at attempts to disrupt democracy in Turkey, and at two positive rulings from Turkey’s Constitutional Court; at anti-immigrant legislation in Europe; and at a Christmas greeting in Syriac