With temperatures in the low 50s, it is true to say that it is hot in the Iraqi city of Baghdad. The country, run by a care-taker administration since last year’s parliamentary election, has failed to solve its political problems. The care-taker government has no authority to pass spending bills. A problem when the country’s temperature is playing havoc with Iraq’s electricity grid and parts of this grid aren’t working leaving Iraqi’s with no means to cool down. But for Iraq, Climate Change is still a First World problem and without a proper government, the country can’t take the international stage and contribute to relevant global policy. Then there’s Shiite Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Attempting to exploit the Iraqi political power vacuum, his Sadrist bloc commands a majority of seats in the Iraqi parliament but can’t translate it into decisive political power. In this episode we’re joined by Prof. Scott Lucas from the University of Birmingham, UK, to discuss Iraqi politics and much more besides.

With temperatures in the low 50s, it is true to say that it is hot in the Iraqi city of Baghdad. The country, run by a care-taker administration since last year’s parliamentary election, has failed to solve its political problems. The care-taker government has no authority to pass spending bills. A problem when the country’s temperature is playing havoc with Iraq’s electricity grid and parts of this grid aren’t working leaving Iraqi’s with no means to cool down. But for Iraq, Climate Change is still a First World problem and without a proper government, the country can’t take the international stage and contribute to relevant global policy. Then there’s Shiite Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Attempting to exploit the Iraqi political power vacuum, his Sadrist bloc commands a majority of seats in the Iraqi parliament but can’t translate it into decisive political power. In this episode we’re joined by Prof. Scott Lucas from the University of Birmingham, UK, to discuss Iraqi politics and much more besides.

STRATEGIKON is the podcast of SAGE International (SAGE), an Adelaide-based private think-tank specialising in the analysis of foreign policy, international and national security issues in Australia's 'defence state' of South Australia. Est. in 2015 STRATEGIKON is hosted by SAGE Founder/CEO Dr. John Bruni, long-time media commentator on national security issues & co-hosted by SAGE colleague, David J. Olney. STRATEGIKON is produced by Michael Migali, who is also ‘the asker of occasional questions.’ Our podcast is proudly powered by the Auscast Network, Australia’s Coolest Podcasting Network. Let STRATEGIKON be your window to all things security and foreign affairs.

STRATEGIKON can be found on Twitter, YouTube, and the SIA website.

Early episode music courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com): "One-eyed Maestro" Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution

STRATEGIKON is the podcast of SAGE International (SAGE), an Adelaide-based private think-tank specialising in the analysis of foreign policy, international and national security issues in Australia's 'defence state' of South Australia. Est. in 2015 STRATEGIKON is hosted by SAGE Founder/CEO Dr. John Bruni, long-time media commentator on national security issues &amp; co-hosted by SAGE colleague, David J. Olney. STRATEGIKON is produced by Michael Migali, who is also &lsquo;the asker of occasional questions.&rsquo; Our podcast is proudly powered by the Auscast Network, Australia&rsquo;s Coolest Podcasting Network. Let STRATEGIKON be your window to all things security and foreign affairs.
STRATEGIKON can be found on <a href="https://twitter.com/STRATEGIKON_SA">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC42y4xdIkOIIVeD-lQlPh9w">YouTube</a>, and the <a href="https://www.sageinternational.org.au/podcast/">SIA website</a>.
Early episode music courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com): "One-eyed Maestro" Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution