Project Description

U.S. Consulate General Erbil’s Political Section is seeking highly motivated go-getters to undertake research related to political-military developments affecting the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR) and disputed areas of neighboring provinces. Interns may be requested to produce analytical pieces military developments’ impacts, map products, and graphs. The selected intern will monitor open source reporting to inform Mission Iraq’s understanding of IKR internal political developments and their impacts on Erbil-Baghdad relations in addition to U.S. policy. The selected intern will also track open source reporting to inform Mission Iraq’s understanding of Turkish airstrikes in the IKR and Ninewa Province in addition to ISIS or Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) confrontations with Peshmerga. Interns may be requested to produce analytical pieces on political developments in addition to updating or creating biographies on Mission contacts as required. Additionally, interns may be asked to update or create biographies on Mission contacts as required.

Required Skills or Interests

Additional Information

Strong candidates will have an interest or background in politics, defense policy, qualitative research skills, and strong writing skills. Applicants must demonstrate sound judgement in assessing the credibility of open source reporting and trustworthiness of online sources. Applicants must be flexible and able to shift attention towards different priorities as the need arises. An interest in Kurdish and/or Middle Eastern Studies is helpful, but not required Language skills in Kurdish (Sorani or Kurmanji), Arabic, Syriac, and/or Turkish are helpful, but not required.