Syria Program Commentary & Analysis

MENASource

Aug 24, 2020

The Caesar Act might alter the UAE’s normalization policy with Syria

By Emily Santucci

Even if the US chooses to withhold more punitive measures against Emirati entities for the time being, Abu Dhabi’s posture of rapprochement with Syria may come under closer scrutiny from Washington down the road.

Politics & Diplomacy Syria

MENASource

Aug 12, 2020

The Syrian regime wheels and deals minorities to remain in power

By Ayman Abdel Nour

The Bashar al-Assad regime operates merely to preserve itself, undermining chances of Syrians uniting across religious and ethnic lines.

Politics & Diplomacy Syria

MENASource

Jul 31, 2020

The American moment: Creating a new balance of power in Syria

By Ayman Abdel Nour and Dania Koleilat Khatib

The United States should seize this moment on changes in the Syrian landscape to create a new balance of power in Damascus.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Jul 31, 2020

The Syrian parliamentary elections were a mockery

By Michel Duclos

All in all, the July 19 result was not great for the Bashar al-Assad regime, but the veneer of a normal election was achieved, especially given that the low turnout could be excused by the pandemic.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Jul 30, 2020

Syria’s inconsequential 2021 presidential elections must be ignored

By Jomana Qaddour and Danny al-Baaj

Russia and the United States will still have to contend with Iranian influence and its far more substantial ground presence in Syria.

Politics & Diplomacy Syria

MENASource

Jul 30, 2020

Iran-Syria air defense pact could cause Russian-Iranian friction

By Mark N. Katz

Neither Damascus nor Tehran has been happy about Moscow’s unwillingness to enable themselves or Syria to halt Israeli attacks. The signing of the Iran-Syria air defense pact, though, may change this.

Iran Middle East

MENASource

Jul 8, 2020

The Syrian online war of narratives

By Karl Nicolas Lindenlaub

Narrative in the Syrian Civil War acts as a front contested with unprecedented means over an unprecedented scale.

Middle East Syria

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
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