commentary & analysis

in-depth research & reports

Featured Project

Experts

Past Events

Online publications

Blog Post

Jun 25, 2020

Mapping Russia’s soft power efforts in Syria through humanitarian aid

By Marika Sosnowski and Jonathan Robinson

By mapping where Russia’s Center for Reconciliation of Conflicting Sides in Syria has delivered aid over an 18-month period (between 2018 and 2020), a picture of Russia’s soft power tactics in Syria can be formed.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Jun 1, 2020

Syrian opposition: Move, disband, or do the bidding of others

By Frederic C. Hof

Recent events inside Syria pose a question: Can the Syrian opposition outside Syria play a constructive political role if the regime begins to wobble or topple?

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

May 12, 2020

Has Moscow really turned against Assad?

By Mark N. Katz

Russian articles criticizing the Assad regime do not presage a Kremlin effort to replace him, but are, instead, a concerted Russian effort to get the Assad regime to change its ways.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

May 5, 2020

Aid groups desperately look for other options to combat coronavirus

By Borzou Daragahi

The pandemic has prompted organizations to reconfigure the way they provide aid.

Coronavirus Middle East

MENASource

Mar 23, 2020

Amid US uncertainty in Syria, Kurdish YPG eyes bolstering ties with Russia

By Matthew Ayton

The YPG leadership is said to be reassessing the strategic importance of its ties with what is an increasingly unreliable Washington, and is looking to further diversify its portfolio of international partners, with an eye toward strengthening ties with Russia.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Mar 9, 2020

Pseudo diplomacy in Syria

By Frederic C. Hof

For nine years the West has chosen, in the context of Syria, to deny real power to its diplomats and its diplomacy.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Mar 2, 2020

Factbox: The Syrian regime’s push in Idlib province

By Kyle Thetford

This factbox aims to shed light on the latest developments, the humanitarian consequences, and the key actors involved.

Conflict Middle East

MENASource

Feb 14, 2020

American passivity and weakness shine in Idlib province

By Frederic C. Hof

In a tribute to foreign policy continuity, the Trump administration upholds its predecessor’s Syria policy of gratuitously communicating passivity and weakness to adversaries.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Oct 28, 2019

A highway linking Iraq and Syria becomes an opportunity for Tehran

By Caroline Rose

In the past month, the sands have shifted within the Levant’s political landscape. The United States has recalibrated its official policy in the region, choosing to draw down its special operations forces in northern Syria and thereby introducing a power vacuum in the region. After an offensive and brief ceasefire in northern Syria, Moscow and Ankara […]

Iran Iraq

MENASource

Jul 8, 2019

Syrians in Lebanon: A life of misery, or a return to the unknown

By Tesbih Habbal

Ongoing discrimination and anti-refugee rhetoric in Lebanon are leaving desperate Syrians with two dismal options: to live under harsh conditions in Lebanon or return to Syria with worse conditions and even less stability.

Middle East Syria

Subscribe

Through our Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, the Atlantic Council works with allies and partners in Europe and the wider Middle East to protect US interests, build peace and security, and unlock the human potential of the region.