Featured reading

Itani on Fighting ISIS and al-Qaeda

New Atlanticist
Dec 8, 2024

Experts react: Rebels have toppled the Assad regime. What’s next for Syria, the Middle East, and the world?

By
Atlantic Council experts

Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has been ousted as opposition forces quickly took the Syrian capital. Atlantic Council experts share their insights on the developments.

Conflict
Corruption

Itani on Fighting ISIS and al-Qaeda

Fast Thinking
Dec 8, 2024

Assad has fallen. Now what?

By
Atlantic Council

The power shift in Syria will reverberate across the Middle East and the world. Our experts explain what’s next.

Conflict
Iran

Itani on Fighting ISIS and al-Qaeda

New Atlanticist
Dec 9, 2024

Dispatch from Doha: Assad’s fall, Iran’s weakness, and the impact of unintended consequences

By
Jonathan Panikoff

In just six months, Iran has slid from a position of strength to perhaps the weakest it has been since 1979.

Conflict
Iran

Itani on Fighting ISIS and al-Qaeda

MENASource
Dec 10, 2024

Where Syria goes next after the fall of Assad

By
Frederic C. Hof

With the Assad family agone, Syria, at long last, has a chance to achieve the kind of political transition envisioned by the 2012 Geneva Final Communique and UNSCR 2254.

Conflict
Middle East

Itani on Fighting ISIS and al-Qaeda

New Atlanticist
Dec 10, 2024

A blueprint for bringing about a new Syria

By
Kirsten Fontenrose

For a reconstruction strategy in Syria to be effective, all parties must adopt a unified approach that is clear-eyed about the country’s new leaders.

Crisis Management
International Organizations

Explore our Syria work

Syria Project

Our work on Syria sheds light on the ongoing struggle of Syrians to fulfill their desire for democratic self-governance as the United States and the international community grapple with the aftermath of a devastating civil war, millions of refugees across the Middle East and Europe, and ongoing security and political challenges spilling over Syria’s borders.


Group of world leaders sitting around table set up.

Syria Strategy Project

The Atlantic Council, Middle East Institute, and European Institute of Peace collaborate with subject matter experts and policymakers in the US, Europe, and the Middle East to develop a holistic strategy to sustainably forge a pathway to resolving Syria’s crisis.

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Featured experts

Leadership

Fellow


Qutaiba Idlbi


Resident Senior Fellow, Syria

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Economic Sanctions
Entrepreneurship

Fellows

Fellow


Michel Duclos


Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Conflict
Crisis Management

Fellow


Arwa Damon


Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic
Civil Society

Fellow


Ömer Özkizilcik


Nonresident Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic
English

Fellow


Sinan Hatahet


Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic
Economic Sanctions

Former fellow


Hind Kabawat


Former Nonresident Senior Fellow, Syria Project

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic
Civil Society

Fellow


Diana Rayes 


Nonresident Fellow, Syria Project

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic
Civil Society

Past events

Public Event
Mon, March 18, 2024 • 1:00 pm ET

The Syria Strategy Project: A public launch

Civil Society
Conflict
Freedom and Prosperity
Human Rights

Online Event
Mon, February 12, 2024 • 12:00 pm ET

One year on: Assessing the February 6th earthquake response in Syria

Civil Society
Economy & Business
Human Rights
International Organizations

Online Event
Fri, May 31, 2024 • 9:30 am ET

Serving communities with disability in conflict contexts

Civil Society
Conflict
Crisis Management
Human Rights

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Working with our 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.

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Content

In the News

Nov 22, 2015

Itani on Fighting ISIS and al-Qaeda

By Faysal Itani

Rafik Hariri Center Resident Fellow Faysal Itani joins Defense News to discuss the differences between ISIS and al-Qaeda and the strategies to combat them:

Syria

In the News

Nov 22, 2015

Hof on Combating ISIS

By Frederic C. Hof

The Los Angeles Times quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on what the United States should do to combat ISIS: 

Syria

New Atlanticist

Nov 20, 2015

‘Demagogic’ Anti-Migrant Rhetoric Will Hurt America

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Madeleine Albright and Stephen Hadley criticize efforts to keep out Syrian migrants The terrorist attacks in Paris on Nov. 13 have produced an alarming anti-migrant backlash in the United States. Republican presidential frontrunner Ben Carson has compared migrants fleeing the war in Syria to dogs. Another Republican presidential contender, Donald Trump, said he would support […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Nov 20, 2015

Russian Intervention Has Improved Prospects of Political Transition in Syria, says US Official

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Deputy Secretary of State Blinken says Moscow realizes it cannot sustain costs and risks of intervention Russian intervention in Syria has improved the prospects of a political transition in Damascus because Moscow “cannot risk the growing costs of its actions,” US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Istanbul on Nov. 20. Differences between […]

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

SyriaSource

Nov 20, 2015

Top News: November 20, 2015

By SyriaSource

– Russian strikes in Syria kill more than 1,300 says SOHR– UN votes to condemn Syria over rights violations– Saudi Arabia to host Syrian opposition talks, says state media– Turkey renews plans for Syria safe zone– Turkey seizes 11 million pills of ‘Syria war drug’– Bombings kill at least fifteen in Baghdad

Syria

In the News

Nov 20, 2015

Hof: How to Solve the Syrian Crisis

By Frederic C. Hof

Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof cowrites for The Guardian on the steps needed for the United States to assist Syria in overcoming its current crisis:

Syria

New Atlanticist

Nov 20, 2015

Shutting the Door on Migrants the ‘Worst Solution’

By Ashish Kumar Sen

French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy says Europe, United States must welcome Syrians fleeing war Closing the door to migrants fleeing the war in Syria after attacks in Paris would be the “worst solution,” Bernard-Henri Lévy, a French philosopher and best-selling author, said at the Atlantic Council on Nov. 19. “Even if it is proved that some […]

European Union France
20151124 justice-mechanisms

Event Recap

Nov 19, 2015

Justice Mechanisms in the Syrian Conflict: Impunity under Scrutiny

By Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East

On November 19, 2015 the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East in cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) and the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA) hosted a discussion on the conflict between accountability for war crimes and negotiating a peaceful resolution to the war in Syria. Former US Ambassador […]

Syria

Webcasts

Nov 19, 2015

Bernard-Henri Lévy: ISIS, Putin, and the Challenge to the West

By Atlantic Council

Following the tragic attacks in Paris and calls for more assertive action in Syria, Bernard-Henri Lévy will discuss the challenges facing the US and Europe in the fight against ISIS amid Russia’s military intervention in Syria. Please join the Atlantic Council for a discussion with one of France’s leading thinkers and writers, on “ISIS, Putin, and […]

Syria

In the News

Nov 19, 2015

Blanford: Is ISIS Looking to Move in on the Arsal-Ras Baalbek Area?

By Nicholas Blanford

Middle East Peace and security Initiative Nonresident Senior Fellow Nicholas Blanford writes for NOW on the possibility of ISIS gaining ground in the Lebanese defended town of Arsal:

Middle East Syria
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Experts

Fellow

Amany Qaddour 

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Civil Society

Fellow

Diana Rayes 

Nonresident Fellow, Syria Project

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Civil Society

Fellow

Lukas Andriukaitis

Nonresident Fellow

Digital Forensic Research Lab

Disinformation Eastern Europe

Staff

Elise Baker

Senior Staff Lawyer, Strategic Litigation Project

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Civil Society Extremism

Fellow

Nicholas Blanford

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Conflict

Fellow

Alia Brahimi

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Civil Society
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