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

Sep 14, 2015

Syria: The Right Salafis Can Make All the Difference

By Mona Alami

Salafi groups in Western media have triggered a debate over the jihadists’ role in the Syria war. The proliferation of terrorist groups like the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) has left the West wary of the Salafis, a narrative used by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to promote himself as a counterweight to the spread of […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Sep 10, 2015

Obama’s Failure to Stop Assad Contributes to Refugee Crisis

By Frederic C. Hof

The following is an excerpt from an article by Frederic Hof, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, originally published by Foreign Policy on September 9, 2015.

Iran Russia

SyriaSource

Sep 4, 2015

Syria: Don’t Let Perfect Be the Enemy of Good

By Faysal Itani

Foreign Policy published an intriguing article by Aaron David Miller, arguing that the current US Syria policy is the inevitable outcome of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy worldview.

Syria

SyriaSource

Sep 3, 2015

Syria Banks Will Wait Out the Conflict

By Rashad al-Kattan

Many observers have dubbed the conflict in Syria (and rightly so) an international one, as regional and global powers compete through direct and proxy actors on Syrian territory. Their different forms of intervention has both shaped and transformed the Syrian revolution, which started with local protests in March 2011 as a rejection to the untenable […]

Economy & Business Syria

SyriaSource

Aug 31, 2015

Iran: The Costs of Diplomatic Single-Tracking

By Frederic C. Hof

Head counting in Congress indicates that President Barack Obama is closing in on veto-proof numbers as he seeks to implement the Iranian nuclear agreement. Indeed, he may well acquire the requisite number of Senate supporters (forty-one) to prevent a resolution of disapproval from even getting a vote in the upper house.

Iran Syria

SyriaSource

Aug 25, 2015

A Potential Ground Component for the ISIS-Free Zone

By Andrea Taylor and Abigail Kukura

The Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) attack on Marea on August 11 closely resembled their offensive in northern Aleppo two months prior. In both instances, ISIS launched attacks against the Levant Front (or Jabhat al-Shamiyya), in close proximity to the Turkish border and within ten miles of a Turkey-Aleppo supply route critical to rebel forces.

Syria Turkey

SyriaSource

Aug 21, 2015

Syria: Kicking the Can Down the Road

By Frederic C. Hof

The United Nations Security Council authorized a statement by the Council’s president on August 17 endorsing a new search process for a negotiated political settlement in Syria. “Syrian parties” would be invited to attend “more focused consultations and discussions” in “four thematic working groups.”

Iran Syria

SyriaSource

Aug 14, 2015

Syria: An Open Letter to President Obama

By MENASource

US Representative to the United Nations Samantha Power said that the Assad regime has “apparently grown reliant on the repugnant use of barrel bombs as an instrument of terror against innocent Syrian civilians.” Over 2,000 barrel bombs dropped on Syria since the first week of July. It is within this context that Ambassadors Frederic Hof and […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Aug 6, 2015

Syria: Is There a Political Future for Assad?

By Frederic C. Hof

News that Iran may submit a Syria peace plan to the United Nations combined with ongoing Syria-related talks between Moscow and Washington brings to the fore the perennial question of Bashar al-Assad, still recognized by the West as presiding over a heap of physical and political wreckage known as the Syrian Arab Republic.

Syria

SyriaSource

Jul 31, 2015

Syria: Hard Times in ISIL-Free Land

By Frederic C. Hof

The temptation to heap scorn on the US-led “train-and-equip” program seeking to create an anti-Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) Syrian ground force by recruiting Syria rebels will no doubt increase due to the kidnapping (by the Nusra Front) of the commander of the unit into which new trainees have been funneled.

Iran Syria
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