While much of the focus in Iraq is on the civil war, workers and their communities in areas not affected directly by the war continue to suffer under a corrupt and dysfunctional political system. The mass protests that started last year have continued into 2016, causing the country’s political system to grind to a halt. While these protests have demanded the end to corruption, nepotism and sectarianism, at this stage they lack an independent organisational structure and may fall prey to further sectarian tensions.
