Austerity and resistance: the public salary crisis in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Rodgers, Winthrop (2025) Austerity and resistance: the public salary crisis in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. LSE Middle East Centre Paper Series (100). LSE Middle East Centre, London, UK.

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Abstract

A decade-long financial crisis in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) has hit public servants the hardest. In response to retaliatory budget cuts by Iraq’s federal government over Kurdish independent oil exports, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) initiated a range of austerity measures seeking to maintain financial solvency. This policy included the non-payment and delay of salaries, a formal salary withholding scheme, dramatic reductions in public sector recruitment, and the suspension of promotions for existing workers. It resulted in extensive economic, social, and political consequences that have contributed to the breakdown of the KRI’s social contract and eroded the power of the two ruling parties. Despite its local importance, this issue has attracted little academic and international media attention, which this paper attempts to address.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	https://www.lse.ac.uk/middle-east-centre/publicati...
Additional Information:	© 2025 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Middle East Centre
Subjects:	J Political Science > JQ Political institutions Asia, Africa, Australia, Pacific H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
Date Deposited:	01 Dec 2025 10:36
Last Modified:	08 Dec 2025 16:54
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/130368

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