In this episode of the Lines on a Map podcast, I’m back with Renwar Najm for another conversation about Iraqi politics.

Last time we spoke, we discussed Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi’s campaign against corruption and what it tells us about the Iraqi state and its political system. This time, we’re shifting our focus from corruption to another major question facing Iraq today: who actually controls the country’s weapons and armed forces?

Iraq is currently going through a process aimed at bringing weapons under state control, a process that has generated a lot of debate, not least because of the complicated relationship between Iraq’s political parties, militias, and security institutions.

Today, we’ll try to make sense of what is happening, why it matters, and where this process could take Iraq.

Host: Sushobhan Parida ...