Ali Al-Mawlawi

Ali Al-Mawlawi is the El-Erian Fellow at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center and director of Horizon Advisory Group. His research focuses on Iraq’s political economy, public sector reform, and electoral politics, with particular emphasis on the relationship between political power, institutional development, and economic policymaking.

Al-Mawlawi has consulted for several international organizations, including the World Bank and United Nations agencies. Previously, he served as head of research at the Bayan Center in Baghdad, adviser to Iraq’s ambassador to the United States in Washington, D.C., and communications adviser for Médecins Sans Frontières in Dubai. He also co-hosts the Iraqi Voices podcast.

Al-Mawlawi holds a master’s degree in international studies and diplomacy from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

His publications include Salvaging State Legitimacy in Iraq through Decentralization (Cambridge University Press, 2023); Iraqi Shia Factions Are Supposedly “Anti-state.” But State Power Is What They Want (Century International, 2022); Public Sector Reform in Iraq (Chatham House, 2020); and Public Payroll Expansion in Iraq: Causes and Consequences (LSE Middle East Centre, 2019).