Global and International Studies Building, 3058
Full Biography
Feisal Amin Rasoul al-Istrabadi centers his research interests on the interstices between law, politics, and policy in the region from the Persian Gulf to Afghanistan. He is deeply engaged with security issues, diplomacy, and US policy as they relate to Iraq, the Persian Gulf, Iran, Turkey, and Afghanistan. His research also focuses on problems of democratization, constitutionalism, post-conflict justice, state-building, identity politics, and the rule of law generally in the region. He is internationally recognized as a leading expert on the Iraqi Constitution and the post-2003 period. Professor al-Istrabadi is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
A double alumnus of Indiana University, al-Istrabadi was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Deputy Permanent Representative of Iraq to the United Nations in 2004 and served in the Office of the Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2012. Amb. al-Istrabadi was principal legal drafter of the Iraqi interim constitution of 2004. He lectures often at universities and policy institutes and appears frequently in national and international media. He is Affiliate Professor of Law at the IU Maurer School of Law and a Professor by Courtesy at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
Education
B.A. in Chemistry at Indiana University, 1986
J.D. at Indiana University Maurer School of Law, 1988
LL.M. at Northwestern University, 2005
S.J.D. at Northwestern University, 2009
Amb. Istrabadi in the News
- Amb. al-Istrabadi was quoted in the New York Times on the en masse resignations of the 73-member Iraqi parliamentary Sadrist block in Efforts to Form a New Government in Iraq Descend Into Chaos, New York Times, at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/13/world/middleeast/iraq-government-sadr.html (June 13, 2022).
- Amb. Istrabadi was interviewed on PBS NewsHour on 5 February 2019 analyzing the damage to US-Iraq relations caused by comments President Donald J. Trump made about the presence of US forces in Iraq. Watch video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fUnxhy7FlA
- Amb. Istrabadi was interviewed on PBS NewHour on 16 October 2017 by Judy Woodruff assessing the aftermath of Federal Iraqi forces expelling Iraqi-Kurdish regional forces from the disputed Iraqi city of Kirkouk. Watch video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzsy4ZIkcnM
- Amb. Istrabadi appeared on PBS NewsHour on 11 July 2017 with Judy Woodruff to discuss the liberation of Iraq’s second-largest city, Mosul, from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Watch the video: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/mosul-liberated-iraq-make-sure-isis-cant-make-comeback
- Amb. Istrabadi appeared with David Ignatius of the Washington Post on PBS NewsHour on 21 May 2015 for an interview by Gwen Ifill to discuss the on-going fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq and Syria. View the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7c38KToBl0
- Amb. Istrabadi appeared on PBS NewsHour on 8 September 2014 with Judy Woodruff to discuss the country's recent campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Watch video
- Amb. Istrabadi was interviewed on PBS NewsHour on 8 August 2014 regarding the adequacy of the US response to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9k1cr4FB6Y
- Amb. Istrabadi appeared on PBS NewsHour on 12 June 2014 with James Jeffrey, former US Ambassador to Iraq to analyze an international response to the drive by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to Baghdad. Watch video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXBip2NtoDE
- Amb. Istrabadi appeared on PBS NewsHour on 2 May 2013 with Ryan Crocker, former US Ambassador to Iraq to discuss the country's recent descent into greater violence. Watch video: https://www.pbs.org/video/how-might-iraq-prevent-return-to-chronic-violence-1374787583/
- Amb. Istrabadi's op-ed for at www.project-syndicate.org, The Disenchantment of Iraq.[March 18, 2013]
- Amb. Istrabadi appeared on PBS NewsHour on Monday, September 10th, 2012. Amb. Istrabadi shared his insights on the governance of Iraq, sectarian violence, and the coordinated bombings of Sunday, September 9th. View video
- NPR's To The Point on KCRW, Los Angeles interviewed Amb. Istrabadi regarding the current situation in Iraq and his own history in the region's government.
- AlJazeera about the recent violence in Iraq. June 13th, 2012 - Scores Killed in Iraq Attacks. View interview
- The BBC program The World Today regarding similarities between Syria now and the Iraq of Saddam Hussein. Segment begins at 26:30. View interview
- The IU Newsroom Blog IU INC.
- "Profiles: Iraqi Politician and Diplomat" | Indiana Public Media, February 24, 2012
- "Does Maliki Want to Become Unchallenged Ruler of Iraq?" | PBS Newshour, December 20, 2011
- "Iraq: After Americans are Gone" | To the Point, December 13, 2011
- "Iraq's New Government: How Will It Tackle Old Challenges?" | PBS News Hour, November 11, 2010
- "Political deadlock damaging Iraq security - minister" | BBC News, September 7, 2010
- "Current and Future Perspectives on Iraq" | As It Happens - CBC, September 2, 2010
- "Iraq's Stalled Government: Which Blocs Will Form Core?" | PBS News Hour, September 2, 2010
- "End of Iraq Combat Mission: Annotating Obama's Address" | PBS News Hour, August 31, 2010
- Amb. Istrabadi appeared on PBS NewsHour on 4 March 2010 with Jim Lehrer to discuss the Iraqi federal parliamentary elections. Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o6CYwVL_2E
Selected Publications
Prosecuting Tyrants in Iraq (New York: Cambridge University Press, forthcoming)
The Future of ISIS: Regional and International Implications, (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2018) , editor with Sumit Ganguly)
“Introduction: The End of ISIS?” (co-author with Sumit Ganguly)
“Regional Constraints on the US Confrontation of ISIS”
“Twilight in Afghanistan: An Introduction” (author with Sumit Ganguly) in Western Withdrawal and the Future of Afghanistan, 55 Asian Survey (2015), a special journal volume consisting of eight articles (Co-editor with Sumit Ganguly)
“Sectarian Visions of the Iraqi State: Irreconcilable Differences?” in Social Difference and Constitutionalism in Pan-Asia, ed. Susan H. Williams., Cambridge University Press, 2014
“Islam and the State in Iraq: The Post-2003 Constitutions,” in Constitutionalism in Islamic Countries: Between Upheaval and Continuity, ed. Rainer Grote and Tilmann Röder (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012)
“The Limits of Legality: Assessing Recent International Interventions in Civil Conflicts in the Middle East,” Maryland Journal of International Law 29: 119-160 (2014)
“A City of Two Tales,” Middle East Journal (2014) 68: 633-640
“A Constitution without Constitutionalism: Reflections on Iraq’s Failed Constitutional Processes,” Texas Law Review (2009) 87: 1627-1655
“Reviving Constitutionalism in Iraq: Key Provisions of the Transitional Administrative Law,” New York Law School Law Review (2005-2006) 50: 269-302
“The High-Level Panel and the Use of Force in Iraq in 2003,” Northwestern University Journal of International Human Rights (2005) 4: 146 *1-*33
“Preventive Use of Force: The Case of Iraq,” Northwestern University Journal of International Human Rights (2005) 4: 81
“Poor Governance, Corruption Spur Iraqi Protests,” in The Bridge (Blog), The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, Aug. 15, 2018, at www.agsiw.org/poor-governance-corruption-iraqi-protests/
“The Justice Sector and Appendix: Somalia’s Judicial System in the Constitutional Texts Prior to 2012, in Supporting the Peaceful Implementation of the New Constitution in Somalia: An IDLO Report” (IDLO 2012) (with Adam-Shirwa Jama, Sumit Bisarya, and Nicholas Joseph)
“Nation Re-Building: Myths, Realities and Solutions in Iraq,” Harvard International Review (2007) 14:14
“Wisdom has been in short supply during the ill-conceived Kurdish referendum campaign,” The National (UAE), Sep. 24, 2017, https://www.thenational.ae/opinion/wisdom-has-been-in-short-supply-during-the-ill-conceived-kurdish-referendum-campaign-1.661248
“The potentially profound and widespread consequences of September's Kurdish independence vote,” The National (UAE), July 10, 2017, https://www.thenational.ae/opinion/the-potentially-profound-and-widespread-consequences-of-september-s-kurdish-independence-vote-1.431230
“India and the State of Palestine” (with Sumit Ganguly), The Asian Age (India), Nov. 3, 2014, The Asian Age and The Deccan Chronicle (India), Nov. 3, 2014, http://www.deccanchronicle.com/141103/commentary-op-ed/article/india-and-state-palestine
“Sectarian War a Two-Way Street for Iraq and Syria,” al-Monitor, May 28, 2013, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/sectarian-struggle-iran-syria.html
“The Disenchantment of Iraq,” Project Syndicate, Mar. 18, 2013,https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/ten-years-after-the-iraqi-war-by-feisal-a--istrabadi, translated into Arabic, Chinese, French, German, and Spanish (Project Syndicate is an international association of over 400 newspapers in 150 countries)
“Reading Obama’s Iraq Policy,” Project Syndicate, Nov. 17, 2010), https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/is-obama-losing-iraq, translated into Spanish, Russian, French, German, Chinese, and Arabic
“End of Iraq Combat Mission: Annotating Obama's Address” PBS News Hour Blog, Aug. 31, 2010
“Iraq’s Critical Election,” Project Syndicate (3 March 2010), at https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/iraq-s-critical-election, translated into Spanish, Russian, French, German, Chinese and Arabic
Courses Taught
- After Atrocities: Processes of Post-Conflict Justice
- After Atrocities: Reconstructing the Peace
- Constitutionalism in the Middle East
- Democratization in the Middle East
- Feminist Readings of Islamic Legal Texts
- Foreign Policies, Alliances, & Conflicts: The Contemporary Persian Gulf
- Intervention and Sovereignty
- Introduction to International Human Rights Law
- Introduction to International Law
- Law and Development
- Multi-disciplinary Graduate Seminar on Human Rights
- The Presidential Candidates and US Foreign Policy
- War and Peace in the International Order