SyriaSource

SyriaSource followed the dynamics in Syria through in-depth analysis of the impact of the conflict on Syria, its neighbors and the international community. Amplifying a diverse range of Syrian and regional voices—to reach both English—and Arabic-speaking audiences, SyriaSource transforms their words from strong but distant ideas to resounding perspectives not often heard among Washington and international policymakers. For the latest work on Syria, please visit MENASource.

Explore MENASOURCE

The latest on Syria

MENASource

Jan 13, 2025

Turkey’s Syria and Libya strategies add up to a Mediterranean power play

By Emadeddin Badi and Abdullah al-Jabassini 

By aligning its strategies in Libya and Syria, Turkey seeks to consolidate influence and amplify its leverage across both theaters.

Defense Policy Drones

MENASource

Jan 10, 2025

To help build the new Syria, the US needs to better understand the Kurds and Arabs of the northeast

By Ömer Özkizilcik

Washington should take note of the complexities in the region and not be bound by the past. The security of the entire region is at stake.

Civil Society Democratic Transitions

MENASource

Jan 3, 2025

Dispatch from Damascus: The challenges of rebuilding are becoming clearer in Syria

By Diana Rayes 

Syrians know they will not get what they need to rebuild as a society with one hand tied behind their backs, Diana Rayes writes from Damascus.

Civil Society Democratic Transitions

MENASource

Dec 24, 2024

What role will the Gulf states play in shaping the new Syria?

By Joze Pelayo

Assad’s fall provides an opportunity for the Gulf states to wield significant influence over Syria’s future while adapting to Turkey’s rising prominence.

Crisis Management Economic Sanctions

MENASource

Dec 21, 2024

A US blueprint for Syria’s fragile transition

By Sana Sekkarie

As long as HTS is willing to evolve and accept constructive criticism, the US should engage with the group. Ignoring Syria’s new leaders will not make them go away.

Civil Society Crisis Management

MENASource

Dec 20, 2024

What will minority and women’s rights look like in the new Syria?

By Sinan Hatahet

After years of conflict and division, there is an opportunity to build a more inclusive and just future that reflects the resilience, diversity, and aspirations of all Syrians.

Conflict Democratic Transitions

MENASource

Dec 19, 2024

2024: A year in the Middle East

By Leila Ouhri, Kate Springs, and Yaseen Rashed

2024 was a year of consequence for the Middle East and North Africa, with metastasizing conflict, human tragedies, and major elections across the region.

Conflict Crisis Management

MENASource

Dec 18, 2024

What the fall of the Assad regime really means for China

By Jonathan Fulton

Assad’s fall makes the Middle East more complicated for Beijing but does not threaten China’s most important relationships in the region.

China Conflict

MENASource

Dec 18, 2024

The fall of the Assad regime is just the beginning of Syria’s quest for stability

By Amir Asmar

Sectarian divisions and external actors threaten to render the fall of the Assad regime a new phase in Syria’s civil war rather than its conclusion.

Crisis Management Democratic Transitions

MENASource

Dec 18, 2024

Will Russia be able to keep its bases in Syria?  

By Mark N. Katz

It would be in the United States’ and Israel’s interests not to give the new Syrian government reasons to let Russia keep those bases.  

Conflict Crisis Management

Content

SyriaSource

Jan 29, 2020

The uncounted: Life after war for Syria’s living martyrs

By Gregory Waters

For all Syrians, honoring the men who died fighting for their side’s cause is a central social event. But while martyrs are immortalized in life-sized posters on every street corner, wounded fighters, known as “living martyrs,” risk becoming outcasts in their communities.

Conflict Syria

SyriaSource

Dec 24, 2019

The relentless assault on Idlib

By Reema Hibrawi

The relentless airstrikes campaign on Idlib by the Syrian regime and Russia air forces predicted by many analysts, including this author, remains a defining battlefield to the regime in the Syrian conflict, nine years later. Seen as a last opposition stronghold populated by extremists and a millions of civilians and internally displaced people (IDP), Idlib province and its surroundings are a deadly place.

Conflict Corruption

SyriaSource

Dec 24, 2019

Looking back at 2019: Our top five blogs

By Reema Hibrawi

It was an especially bleak year for Syria as displacement across the country continued especially in Idlib province. Below are our top five blogs in 2019 that touched on these important issues that captured the attention of our readers.

Corruption Political Reform
The complete destruction in Syria

SyriaSource

Dec 18, 2019

Hof’s analysis of Susan Rice’s Syria comments

By Frederic C. Hof

Former national security advisor, Susan Rice, recently wrote an op-ed lamenting the lack of options in solving the Syrian crisis, much like Samantha Powers, however, their arguments do not hold up against scrutiny.

Politics & Diplomacy Security & Defense

SyriaSource

Dec 10, 2019

Life after war: The impact of conflict on Syrian artists

By Natasha Hall

After a scrawled graffiti message in Daraa, Syrian artists began to express themselves more than they ever could since the Assad family took power. Revolutionary art exploded on to the global scene during the Arab Spring. Particularly in Syria, artists, writers, and filmmakers found a new voice, free of fear. Defiance, grief, and frustration were […]

Conflict Resilience & Society

SyriaSource

Dec 6, 2019

Reconstruction and security sector reform in Syria must go hand in hand

By Nora-Elise Beck and Lars Döbert

The structure and characteristics of the pre-conflict Syrian security sector contributed heavily to the outbreak of the Syrian civil war; for decades, it stood for corruption, discrimination, violent repression, and large-scale human rights abuses. When the Arab Spring began to unfold in Egypt and Tunisia in early 2011, a group of Syrian school boys got […]

Germany Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

SyriaSource

Nov 18, 2019

After the Syria withdrawal, it’s time the US rethinks the use of proxy forces

By Mona Alami

Proxy warfare is a 21st century military playbook utilized by great powers, like Russia, and the United States with some using it better than others.

Security & Defense Syria

SyriaSource

Nov 8, 2019

The death of Baghdadi: How ISIS used al-Qaeda’s mistakes to grow a caliphate

By Amanda E. Rogers

Optimistic predictions about the end of the Islamic State (ISIS) surged in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s October 27 press conference announcing the death of the ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, but prove misguided in the long term. The threat posed by ISIS remains high, particularly outside the para-state’s previously held territories in […]

Extremism Iraq

SyriaSource

Nov 7, 2019

Journalists in northeast Syria fear the return of state security services

By Dan Wilkofsky

US President Donald Trump’s decision in early October to withdraw American troops from the Syria-Turkey border put the US’s local partner in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS, Daesh), the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in an unenviable position. Faced with an offensive by Turkey, NATO’s second largest military, the SDF struck a deal with […]

Conflict Media

SyriaSource

Oct 23, 2019

What the Turkish-Russian deal in Syria means for Vladimir Putin

By Frederic C. Hof

The Kremlin stands to reap significant rewards from its agreement with Turkey on Syria.

Politics & Diplomacy Syria
Load More