What kind of country did coalition forces leave behind when they finally left Iraq after eight years of occupation in 2011?

According to some observers, the single act of removing Saddam Hussein from power meant that the invasion could be viewed as a success.

During Hussein's 24-year presidency, it is estimated that between a quarter and half a million Iraqis were killed, including 50,000 to 182,000 Kurds during a three-year campaign of genocide in the north of the country.

So it was understandable when in 2013 Barham Salih, former prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan's regional government, told The Atlantic: "The difficulties of today, the pains of today, and the disappointments of today - and they are very profound, because Iraqis deserve better - these pale in comparison to what we had to endure."

Yet, ten years after Hussein's execution, Iraq today is far from a success.

Sectarian violence between the country's Sunni and Shia factions flared during the coalition's invasion and only increased in its wake. Successive governments have failed to stabilise the country and have been plagued by corruption and assassinations, while plunging oil prices have curtailed efforts to rebuild Iraq's war-ravaged infrastructure.

The ongoing instability manifests itself in people's everyday lives. Power cuts are a daily and, in a country where summer temperatures can hit 50C, dangerous occurrence.

National unemployment rates hover around 16%, rising sharply among young people and women. Poverty is rife, with 23% of Iraqis living on less than $2.20 a day, and 20% of households do not have a safe source of drinking water.

And then there's Isis. In a series of offensives beginning in 2014, the militant group seized control of vast swathes of northern Iraq including the historic cities of Mosul and Fallujah and the Ajil and Allas oil fields.

The Isis surge saw a corresponding rise in civilian fatalities in Iraq and a further weakening of its fragile democracy, eventually leading to the beginning of the coalition airstrike campaign in August 2014.

Since then, Iraqi armed forces and their allies - including Kurdish Peshmerga, Assyrian Christian and Turkmen militia groups - have achieved some successes against Isis, but at a high cost.

A recent campaign to liberate Fallujah has led to a situation that the UN Security Council says is "verging on disaster". In its July report, the Council notes that the fighting has created some 82,000 refugees who are left to fend for themselves, with few resources for humanitarian aid.

The crisis shows no signs of abating in the near future, with the report warning that attempts to retake Mosul could lead to the displacement of as many as two million more Iraqis.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, over three million Iraqis are currently displaced, with seven million more in need of aid. The full cost of funding necessary humanitarian efforts in the war-torn country is estimated to be around £5bn.

Against this backdrop of conflict, however, some are looking ahead to a possible future for the country.

Masrour Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Security Council, is among a growing number of voices calling for a radical solution to Iraq's cycle of sectarian violence.

Barzani believes the nation should be split into three parts: one Sunni, one Shia and one Kurdish. Each region would have responsibility for domestic laws and administration while a central authority would control defence, foreign affairs and oil revenues.

The plan would be difficult to implement and is by no means a guarantee for peace, but has support from powerful quarters - US vice president Joe Biden previously spoke in favour of the idea.

"If we have three confederated states, we will have equal three capitals, so one is not above the other," Barzani told Reuters in June.

"This doesn't mean they live under one roof but they can be good neighbours. Once they feel comfortable that they have a bright and secure future, they can start cooperating with each other."