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

Sep 24, 2025

Is a new era of Turkey-Syria economic engagement on the horizon?

By
Ömer Özkizilcik and Levent Kemal

The convergence of Turkey’s and the Gulf’s economic strategies in Syria presents an opportunity for Washington.

Democratic Transitions
Middle East


MENASource

Sep 17, 2025

In landmark Syria elections, women still face electoral hurdles

By
Marie Forestier 

As the indirect electoral process begins, Syrian officials could take several steps to increase women’s chances in this process.

Civil Society
Democratic Transitions


MENASource

Sep 10, 2025

Ten questions (and expert answers) on Operation Inherent Resolve’s end in Iraq

By
Atlantic Council experts

This new frontier in the US-Iraq relationship leaves many opportunities, challenges and unknowns. Our experts unpack it all.

Defense Policy
Democratic Transitions


MENASource

Aug 25, 2025

Dispatch from Syria’s Christian strongholds: A new government, a full political spectrum

By
Gregory Waters

The conditions of Christian communities across the country remain varied, with the opinions of religious and community leaders deeply mixed.

Civil Society
Democratic Transitions


MENASource

Aug 8, 2025

Sweida’s humanitarian crisis presents a test for Syria’s transitional government and its global partners

By
Diana Rayes 

Sweida is not an isolated tragedy—it is a litmus test for Syria’s fragile political transition and for the international community’s resolve to respond to the unfolding humanitarian crisis.

Conflict
Economy & Business


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

Content

SyriaSource

May 10, 2016

Iran Deal Fuels Syria’s War

By Omar Hossino and Suhayla Sibaai

In 2015, President Obama announced the framework for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, more commonly known as the Iran deal. Obama claimed that a deal would make Iran “operate in a responsible fashion.” Obama’s adviser Ben Rhodes said that the deal would “produce an evolution in Iran’s behavior” and ran a sophisticated media campaign […]

Syria

SyriaSource

May 10, 2016

#5YearsWeFled: Giving Up Our Dignity for the Future

By Ayman Jalwan

This series is from interviews with the lawyer Ayman Jalwan. It highlights the difficult choice that Syrians face—dying in the war zone that Syria had become, or flee the land he loved. Last year, he and his wife said goodbye to their families and joined the wave of citizens leaving the country. First they had […]

Syria

SyriaSource

May 9, 2016

Beating the Blob and Disentangling from Partners

By Frederic C. Hof

Ben Rhodes, President Barack Obama’s deputy national security advisor for strategic communications, is the subject of David Samuels’ piece in the New York Times Magazine: “The Aspiring Novelist Who Became Obama’s Foreign Policy Guru”. If Jeffrey Goldberg’s March 2016 on the “Obama doctrine” was not a sufficient foreign policy Rosetta Stone to decode an administration absolutely […]

Syria

SyriaSource

May 6, 2016

Books as Weapons of Resistance

By Rahaf Habboub

Amer turns the pages of a book. He is sitting in the hallways of an underground library where he creates a world for himself far away from the outside world above. Holding a copy of Commentary on the Mu’allaqat, he explains that he feels that his soul is full of poetry. Despite the sounds of […]

Syria

SyriaSource

May 6, 2016

Aleppo: A View from Idlib

By Saleem al-Omar

These days, Idlib residents all have their eyes fixed on the sky following the fighter jets heading north to strike Aleppo. The air strikes destroyed Al-Quds hospital and the infrastructure in Aleppo. Local residents are fearful of a looming war in Idlib that will have the same fate as Aleppo.

Syria

SyriaSource

May 5, 2016

Keeping Syria in Focus

By Frederic C. Hof

On May 11, I will become Director of the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. Leading an extraordinarily talented cadre of Hariri Center colleagues in their quest to understand the dynamics of change in the Middle East-North Africa region and to identify how the United States and its transatlantic partners can influence […]

Syria

SyriaSource

May 3, 2016

Saving the Ceasefire, Moving Forward

By Frederic C. Hof

Secretary of State John Kerry is investing quality time trying to salvage the “cessation of hostilities” in Syria that began on February 26. For much of March, violence—particularly attacks on civilians—subsided and the United Nations was able to move a modicum of humanitarian aid into desperately needy Syrian communities. But violence is now on the […]

Syria

SyriaSource

May 3, 2016

The EU-Turkey Deal: View from Greece

By Miriam Berger

Shahira, 57, from Deir Ezzor knows that there’s a widespread refugee fatigue: the numbers—over one million people fleeing by sea to Europe just in 2015—have overwhelmed western countries and publics. She also knows painfully well that—despite the strong efforts of many—Europe’s system is failing Syrians like her. Spend just a day in the Greece she’s […]

Syria

SyriaSource

May 2, 2016

#5YearsWeFled: All I Want is to be Safe

By Ayman Jalwan

This series is from interviews with the lawyer Ayman Jalwan. It highlights the difficult choice that Syrians face—dying in the war zone that Syria had become, or flee the land he loved. Last year, he and his wife said goodbye to their families and joined the wave of citizens leaving the country. First they had […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Apr 29, 2016

Syrian Political Transition: Are the Rules Being Bent?

By Frederic C. Hof

UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura recently released a “Mediator’s Summary of the 13-17 April Round of UN Facilitated Intra-Syrian Talks.” It is a thoughtful and thought-provoking document. It appropriately asks far more questions than it answers about political transition in Syria. Even as a regime-Russian military offensive focusing on Aleppo—one targeting civilians and medical […]

Syria
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