While parts of Iraq and neighboring states have become entrenched in terrorism and political unrest, the Kurdistan Region remains relatively unscathed, reinforcing the northern enclave’s sense of security. Tourism to the Kurdish north peaked during the recent Eid holiday, while border trade and the energy sector has continued to expand. Even the extension of Massoud Barzani’s presidency of the region for another two years without elections failed to elicit a public uprising, despite ongoing criticism from opposition groups and individuals.
Yet underneath the relative calm is a silent revolution emerging on the Kurdish streets, shaped by the region’s rapid and uneven socioeconomic and political changes. This revolution is being conducted through media debates and face-to-face discussions, and in reaction to the rising authoritarianism, absence of financial transparency and increasingly evident gap between the haves and the have-nots in Kurdish society. While these challenges are unlikely to bring about regime change at present, they are raising public awareness and pressures for political reform. Moreover, they coexist with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)'s growing dependency on revenues to co-opt society, posing serious challenges to the internal sovereignty and stability of the region in the medium to long term.
