This weekend’s images of armed and masked men roaming the streets of Baghdad are scenes that many Iraqis hoped had been relegated to the past. Yet this was not a terrorist attack or a militia operation. Amid gunfire on Saturday and Sunday, elite anti-terrorism soldiers raided addresses in the capital’s Green Zone, detaining dozens of current and former officials on an anti-corruption drive.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi’s remark that this development was “only in its first phase” followed the arrest of nearly 50 politicians and officials, including MPs from the country’s various blocs. The raids and political justification have been presented as evidence of resolve. However, Iraqis have had many false dawns, leading many to question if this is the beginning of real change, or just more selective accountability.
On the face of it, the scale of the detentions is significant. Iraq is a society that has long been exasperated with compromised governance. In February, Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index placed Iraq firmly in the “highly corrupt” category. A UN Development Programme analysis published earlier this year found that most Iraqis experience the state through “connections, informal payments and fragile trust in public institutions”. Between 2019 and 2021, millions of citizens took part in major waves of protests against high unemployment, poor public services and foreign interference – all issues exacerbated by Iraq’s endemic political corruption.
However, it is too soon to say how this latest crackdown will play out. If it is the beginning of deep institutional change then many will welcome the firm action. On the other hand, if anti-corruption is allowed to falter amid under-the-table negotiations and political bargaining – all while leaving the same political order and patronage networks intact – not only will life for ordinary Iraqis stay the same, it risks deepening distrust of government promises and entrenching cynicism.
A similarly negative outcome is likely if anti-corruption becomes weaponised, merely another tool to be used in the struggle between Iraq’s elites. Entrenched corruption is an urgent issue, but the methods used to fight it matter too. There should be no blurring of the line between justice and power.
Iraq's corruption challenge is structural and endemic, which makes it resistant to one-off arrests or piecemeal approaches. Oil revenues underpin a system in which patronage thrives, and public office is too often abused as a way of gaining access to state resources. Reform of procurement, oversight and how the energy sector is managed are all crucial. The public’s appetite for clean government is real, but it must be met with institutions that can sustain transparency and put mechanisms in place to prevent political backsliding on an issue that continues to dog Iraqis’ hope for a better future.
