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MENASource

Mar 24, 2021

Assad is testing Biden. The US president must not fail.

By Frederic C. Hof

Regardless of what the Biden administration may wish to think or acknowledge, it may well be sitting for an initial examination administered by Bashar al-Assad—the teacher of many harsh lessons to American presidents. Failing the test will not be consequence-free.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Mar 16, 2021

The many paths to Syrian-Israeli reconciliation

By Samir Altaqi

A reported January meeting between several senior Syrian, Israeli, and Russian intelligence officers in Syria failed to advance bilateral discussions between the parties despite allegedly being attended by Bashar Al-Assad.

Israel Middle East

MENASource

Feb 23, 2021

Don’t rely on Moscow to help with “reconciliation” in Syria’s Daraa province

By Jomana Qaddour, Abdulrahman al-Masri

Any deal Russia strikes in Syria’s southern province will be volatile and temporary, given that resolving underlying conditions are impossible under the Bashar al-Assad regime and Russia’s direction.

Middle East Russia

MENASource

Feb 1, 2021

Syria: Which way forward under Biden?

By Frederic C. Hof

The default position of President Joe Biden and his team will likely be along the lines of trying to manage the mess.

Middle East Syria

MENASource

Jan 20, 2021

Fragmentation and perceived bias: The shortcomings of US policy towards tribes in Syria

By Haian Dukhan and Ammar Alhamad

The fragmentation and divisions that plague the Arab tribal population in northeastern Syria played a major role in the US’s decision not to rely primarily on tribal auxiliaries in its fight against ISIS.

Middle East Syria

MENASource

Jan 11, 2021

The Assad regime faces a Rubik’s Cube of challenges in 2021

By Nizar Mohamad and Abdulrahman al-Masri

The coming year will likely present the Bashar al-Assad regime with a perplexing stalemate as it attempts to navigate a political, economic, and security landscape beset with a Rubik’s Cube of challenges.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Dec 23, 2020

Five decades of Baathism survived because of nationalism

By Rahaf Aldoughli

Implicit in understanding the role of nationalism in maintaining the Assad regime’s survival is exploring the extent to which this ideology has given support to it.

Middle East Syria

MENASource

Dec 14, 2020

Russian aid in Syria: An underestimated instrument of soft power

By Jonathan Robinson

Free from needing outside help by the international community, Russia’s self-sufficient aid ecosystem undermines, devalues, and rivals UN-led efforts in Syria, threatens to erode trust in the wider aid system, and provides a dangerous alternative narrative about the humanitarian environment in Syria for the Bashar al-Assad regime.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Dec 10, 2020

Pity the nation: Assessing a half century of Assadist rule

By Steven Heydemann

The Syrian uprising is a more damning referendum on the Assad family legacy than any judgement that might be rendered by outsiders.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Dec 3, 2020

Limited and constrained: The Biden administration and the prospects of a Syria policy

By Abdulrahman al-Masri

While any departure from the Trump administration’s transactional and inconsistent leadership is welcomed, the hopes surrounding the incoming Biden administration’s return to engagement in Syria requires more in-depth scrutiny.

Politics & Diplomacy Syria

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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.