This afternoon, Shia populist leader Muqtada Al-Sadr has been escalating the pressure on Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi, on the issue of reform. His supporters broke into and completely occupied the parliament building. The scenes on television looked chaotic.

In response, Abadi has locked down the capital: upped the security around the surrounding embassies (of which there are plenty in that area); cut of roads in-and-out-of Baghdad; and stopped flights.

In any other country this kind of activity would be considered a serious, if not fatal, test of due government process. Abadi has said that the state is on the verge of collapse. To the external observer however, there is always plenty going on in Iraq that this protest led by Al-Sadr might not seem to be of particular importance. I’m thinking mainly of the ongoing anti-Daesh operations, and the recent clashes between Turkmen and Shia popular militias around Kirkuk.

On the other hand, today’s events are about something much more fundamental than addressing the violence of extremists or civic disorder with a technical or military solution.  The system of “political quotas” is a debate about how the state is run at its core. It is an attempt by Abadi to move power and resources away from the heads of a patrimonial system and into the hands of technocrats. Some have been accusing him of hypocrisy – arguably unwarranted – and others of political stalling, but nevertheless, there does seem to be some movement, chiefly: the appointment of some new “technocrat” ministers.

As anyone other than its direct beneficiaries will probably attest, the patrimonial system has ossified development and progress in Iraq. Changing ministers to non-party-affiliated persons would seem to be one possible step in the right direction, yet it will require a lot more than this. The patrimony and sectarianism within ministries is well established at all levels of government.