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


MENASource

Jul 30, 2025

After Swaida: How Syria’s periphery is shaping its future

By
Ibrahim Al-Assil

What comes next in Syria will not be determined by battlefield victories or summit declarations, but by the evolving realities on the ground.

Conflict
Democratic Transitions


MENASource

Jul 24, 2025

In a sectarian Syria, the winners should refrain from taking all

By
Marie Forestier 

To avoid the complete supremacy of HTS-supporting Sunnis, it is crucial to adopt power-sharing mechanisms ensuring inclusiveness

Democratic Transitions
International Norms


MENASource

Jul 22, 2025

Why the violence in my hometown, Swaida, goes beyond ‘rivalry.’

By
Majd AlGhatrif

US officials described the events as “a rivalry” between Syria’s Druze and Bedouins. But this framing strips the crisis of its historical and political context.

Civil Society
Conflict


MENASource

Jul 2, 2025

Why al-Sharaa’s success in Syria is good for Israel and the US

By
Itai Melchior and Nir Boms

Israel will be wise to align its policy with those who seek to integrate Syria rather than with those who seek to fragment it.

Democratic Transitions
Israel


MENASource

Jun 26, 2025

Dispatch from Damascus: Church attack shows transition’s fragility

By
Ibrahim Al-Assil

The bombing at Mar Elias Church is more than an isolated tragedy. It is a signal that Syria’s transition remains vulnerable to sabotage.

Democratic Transitions
Middle East


MENASource

Jun 20, 2025

On World Refugee Day, complexities persist for Syrian returnees

By
Sinan Hatahet

While Syria’s political shift brings new hope, it also highlights the complex realities that still define the Syrian landscape.

Middle East
Migration


MENASource

Jun 10, 2025

Why DDR programs are the missing link to Syrian stability

By
Muhsen al-Mustafa

With the end of Western sanctions, Syria faces a rare opportunity to address the imbalances of the post-conflict period.

Middle East
Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding


MENASource

Jun 4, 2025

Why Iraq should build bridges with its ‘new’ neighbor, Syria

By
Shermine Serbest

Iraq’s position on the Syria transition is split between two camps: the official government, and that of the powerful non-state actors.

Iraq
Middle East


MENASource

May 28, 2025

Sectarianism, social media, and Syria’s information blackhole

By
Gregory Waters and Kayla Koontz

Since Assad’s December ousting, Syrians have struggled to sift the truth from fake claims about security incidents across the country.

Civil Society
Middle East


MENASource

May 22, 2025

Lebanon’s 1982 war reverberates in Israel’s Syria campaign

By
Sinan Hatahet

Israel’s ongoing intervention in Syria appears different from its 1982 invasion of Lebanon—but beneath the surface, parallels are striking.

Israel
Lebanon

Content

SyriaSource

Apr 17, 2017

Has the International Community Succeeded in Creating a Safe Zone in Syria After Years of War?

By Hosam al-Jablawi

Turkey has come a long way in repairing and rebuilding infrastructure in areas formerly controlled by Syrian armed opposition groups. This is in part because of Turkey’s Euphrates Shield operation, which launched to support and protect its southern border from the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) and block Kurds from unifying their territories in northern […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Apr 14, 2017

Russia Won’t Forsake Assad—And We Shouldn’t Be Surprised

By Youssef Sadaki

It should not have surprised anyone when Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov disappointed his counterpart Rex Tillerson by insisting on standing by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Russia has unhesitatingly thrown its weight behind Assad since the start of the Syrian conflict, allocating massive resources to guarantee the Assad regime’s victory. But despite Russia’s publicly declared […]

Russia Syria

SyriaSource

Apr 14, 2017

Syria: Thinking Strategically

By Frederic C. Hof

Those who think that President Donald Trump can do nothing right—that he is incapable even of matching the performance of a broken clock—have a ready riposte to his cruise missile assault on a Syrian airbase from which a chemical weapons assault was launched: yes, the perpetrators deserved this. But what’s next? Where is the strategy?

Syria

SyriaSource

Apr 13, 2017

Discussion with Aaron Stein on the End of Euphrates Shield

By SyriaSource

Hossam: Hi my name is Hossam Abouzahr and I am the editor in chief in the Rafik Hariri Center at the Atlantic Council. Today we’re going to talk with Aaron Stein about Turkey’s recent ending of the Euphrates Shield Operation in Syria. My first question is, what led them to ending the operation? It ended […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Apr 13, 2017

Trump’s Syria Policy is Aggressive, but Is It Effective?

By Sam Fouad

According to Defense Secretary James Mattis, the US priority remains defeating the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh), bringing the focus back to the long battle in Mosul, and the pending battle in Raqqa after the US military strikes on Shayrat airbase. In the battle against ISIS, US strategy has evolved in the Trump administration’s first […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Apr 12, 2017

Hezbollah’s Balancing Act Between Syria and Lebanon

By Ali Alfoneh

Lebanese Hezbollah was founded on the doctrine of resistance against Israel. Since at least 2012 however, the Shia militia has fought in neighboring Syria on Iran’s behalf to secure the survival of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and thereby maintain its own overland corridor to Tehran. Though it has succeeded, along with Iran and Russia, in stabilizing […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Apr 11, 2017

Syria: Get Civilians Off the Bullseye

By Frederic C. Hof

Before sunup in Syria on April 7, 2017, fifty-nine sea-launched cruise missiles were impacting on a Syrian airbase from which aircraft loaded with chemical munitions had been launched three days earlier. The alacrity of President Trump’s kinetic response to Bashar al-Assad’s chemical assault on civilians contrasted sharply with the paralysis of his predecessor. 

Syria

SyriaSource

Apr 11, 2017

Victims of the Syrian War to President Trump: “Stop the War”

By Saleem al-Omar

After the US missile strike, many members of the Syrian opposition conveyed their support for the strike and their hope that the United States continues with more. Their statements send a clear message to President Bashar al-Assad that the most important thing to them is ending the war and their suffering.

Syria

SyriaSource

Apr 7, 2017

Jihadists in Syria Stopped Fearing the United States When Trump Reached the White House

By Saleem al-Omar

The jihadist Abu Aisha opened his remarks on the United States with a verse from the Quran: “We will surely test you with fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient / Who, when disaster strikes them, say, ‘Indeed we belong to Allah and […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Apr 7, 2017

Al-Bab Residents Slowly Return after the City Is Liberated from ISIS

By Hasan Arfeh

On February 23, Turkish and rebel forces seized al-Bab in northern Syria from the Islamic State group (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) after three years under the terrorist group’s control. Like many Syrian cities, since 2011 it was treated unfairly by the media, which stereotyped it as one of ISIS’s strongest bases of support in Syria and […]

Syria
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