Variegated neo-liberalization, human development and resistance: Iraq in global context

Abstract

Critics of the concept of human development argue that it has for the most part been easily absorbed into neo-liberalizing frameworks that neglect national, material development and that fail to prioritize the poor and insecure. While those criticisms have some force, more attention needs to be paid to the opportunities for resistance afforded by the fact that neo-liberalization is permeated by self-undermining contradictions and must articulate in hybrid and diverse fashion with existing social forces. When Iraq's human development report, national development plan and poverty reduction strategy are examined, we can see in them elements of resistance to neo-liberalization and evidence of the assertion of development -national and human, material and non-material -as a right. However, in assessing poverty in Iraq as 'very shallow', Iraq's poverty reduction team demonstrated that resistance to neo-liberalization and the neglect of the poor will require struggles with Iraqi as well as global actors.Neo-liberalization as a process of commodification and marketization has become a powerful force in global politics. It is also producing resistance in the form of opposition at varying levels of awareness and organization.

Addressing energy challenges in Iraq: Forecasting power supply and demand using artificial intelligence models

“…After 2003, Iraq was opened to the global energy market. The 2014 report from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) shows that 35% of Iraqis demand the provision of electricity and consider it a top priority [8] . The electricity grid in Iraq has been severely damaged by wars, successive conflicts, and economic sanctions in the 1990s.…”