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.

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The latest on Syria


New Atlanticist

May 13, 2025

Experts react: Trump just announced the removal of all US sanctions on Syria. What’s next? 

By
Atlantic Council experts

Our experts provide their insights on how the removal of US sanctions on Syria would affect the country and the wider region.

Civil Society
Economic Sanctions


MENASource

May 8, 2025

From rubble to rebirth: A model for Syria’s reconstruction

By
Mahmood Alhosain

Almost six months since Assad regime collapse, four key pillars will determine whether this new Damascus can seize the opportunity.

Civil Society
Democratic Transitions


MENASource

Apr 29, 2025

Why the US must not let Syria slip away

By
Luke Wagner

Reconsidering the uneasy US-Syria relationship amid reports that Trump and al-Sharaa will meet during the US president’s Saudi Arabia visit.

Economic Sanctions
Middle East


MENASource

Apr 1, 2025

Israel is making a miscalculation in southern Syria. Here is why.

By
Ömer Özkizilcik

Israel’s approach in southern Syria risks deepening sectarian divisions, eroding the Druze community’s standin, and fueling broader instability.

Conflict
Defense Policy


MENASource

Mar 31, 2025

Western sanctions against Damascus must evolve—Just as Syria has

By
Sinan Hatahet

The US can play a pivotal role in shaping the next chapter of Syria’s recovery by shifting its approach from maximum pressure to calibrated influence.

Middle East
Politics & Diplomacy


MENASource

Mar 25, 2025

Dispatch from Bekaa: Inside the sectarian skirmishes on the Syria-Lebanon border

By
Nicholas Blanford

Local Shia tribesmen have battled an assortment of Sunni jihadist militias and the new Syrian security forces dominated by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

English
Lebanon


MENASource

Mar 19, 2025

Inside Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s diplomatic offensive with Syria’s Christians and Ismailis

By
Gregory Waters

HTS’s diplomatic offensive demonstrates the leadership’s political approach, which evolved over years of engaging with the Christian and Druze communities in Idlib.

Democratic Transitions
Freedom and Prosperity


MENASource

Mar 19, 2025

Why the United States must bridge the Iraq-Syria divide

By
Sarkawt Shamsulddin

With leverage over both capitals, the United States emerges as the linchpin in delicate diplomatic moment between Baghdad and Damascus.

English
Iraq


MENASource

Mar 18, 2025

Landmark SDF-Damascus deal presents opportunity, and uncertainty, for Turkey

By
Ömer Özkizilcik

Despite positive signals, critical ambiguities remain in agreement between Syrian President Ahmed Shara and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi.

English
Middle East


MENASource

Mar 10, 2025

Syria’s women face a new chapter. Here’s how to amplify their voices.

By
Diana Rayes , Hind Kabawat

It is critical for women to be involved in transitional justice and constitutional reform processes in Syria.

Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding
Syria

Content

SyriaSource

Dec 18, 2017

The Precarious Situation of Syrian Refugees Returning to Syria

By Seth Hershberger

Jordan, a country of roughly ten million people, is currently home to nearly three million refugees from various countries. Traditionally, the overwhelming majority of refugees in Jordan were from Palestine. However, the number of Syrian refugees seeking sanctuary in Jordan has drastically increased since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011. UNHCR registered […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Dec 12, 2017

Putin Declares Mission Accomplished

By Frederic C. Hof

The quick visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Hmeimim airbase in Syria was all about Russian domestic politics. The first—and Putin hopes last—round of Russian presidential elections is scheduled for March 18, 2018. In his pre-Christmas proclamation of victory over “terrorists” and in preserving Syria as a “sovereign independent state,” Putin reiterated his central, […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Dec 11, 2017

Abrams Tanks and the Banner of Hussein: Syria’s Kurds Nervously Watch Ongoing Events

By Samah Rahbeh

In his book entitled Barzani and the History of the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Masoud Barzani President of Iraqi Kurdistan, wrote that his father Mullah Mustafa once said: “We are willing to become the fifty-first American state if that is what it takes for our cause to succeed.” However, once the 1975 Algiers Agreement between Iran […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Dec 5, 2017

A Future in Question: The Uncertain Fate of Syria’s Opposition Media Activists

By Luna Safwan

Media activists opposed to the Syrian government have documented much of the worst of the war in Syria. However, as President Bashar al-Assad regains control of opposition-held territory, these civilian journalists fear they will have no place in Syria’s future. “It’s not like I did not see this coming. What were we expecting? The government will […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Dec 1, 2017

HTS Continues to Evolve

By Mona Alami

The arrest, this week, of several prominent jihadists in Syria by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is a third and possibly final chapter in the group’s coup against its mother organization al-Qaeda, one that was recognized in a harsh statement by the latter’s leader, Aymen Zawahiri. The controversial move is one way for HTS to finalize […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Nov 30, 2017

Hezbollah’s Strategy: Capture, Consolidate, and Combat Preparation

By Mona Alami

In the past four years, Hezbollah’s has played  a primary role in Syria alongside forces loyal to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to gain back control of over 60 percent of Syrian territory and over two thirds of its population. The organization’s success can be attributed to its strategy in the Lebanese and […]

SyriaSource

Nov 28, 2017

Setting Priorities: Getting the Cart and Horse in Order on US-Syria Policy

By Seth Hershberger

By mid-November, the United States and allied forces kicked out the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) from Raqqa and the Assad regime retook the ISIS stronghold of Abu Kamal, signaling the decline and shift away from ISIS and back to the ongoing civil war. However, the involvement of the United States in Syria, whose “fight […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Nov 27, 2017

Cooperate with Russia?

By Frederic C. Hof

Russian President Vladimir Putin has all-but-declared victory in Syria. He has welcomed his Syrian counterpart to Moscow and has spoken at length telephonically with President Trump. He has preserved a Syrian family enterprise steeped in criminality and left the “state” he claims to have saved firmly in the hands of Iran. To the extent this […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Nov 20, 2017

Russia’s “Syrian People’s Congress” in Sochi: Goals and Realities

By Neil Hauer

As the active conflict against the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) in Syria draws to a close, Russia has announced plans to host a “Syrian People’s Congress” to begin negotiations for a postwar settlement. Initially planned to occur at Russia’s Hmeimim airbase in mid-November, the conference was rescheduled to November 18th in Sochi, Russia before being delayed yet […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Nov 17, 2017

Squaring the Circle in Eastern Syria

By Frederic C. Hof

Readers of SyriaSource are all too familiar with an argument advanced in these pages for well-over two years: ISIS (Daesh, ISIL, Islamic State) should be neutralized quickly in eastern Syria; an American-led, professional ground force coalition-of-the-willing should be assembled to preempt ISIS terror operations in Turkey and Western Europe and minimize Syrian civilian casualties in […]

Syria
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