Featured reading

In the Wake of Syrian Refugees

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

In the Wake of Syrian Refugees

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

In the Wake of Syrian Refugees

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

In the Wake of Syrian Refugees

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

In the Wake of Syrian Refugees

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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Middle East Programs

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

SyriaSource

Nov 2, 2015

In the Wake of Syrian Refugees

By Piroz Perik

European countries have absorbed a large number of Syrian refugees to meet the growing demand for a safe haven. Refugees face massive challenges in transit and destination countries. Refugees who decide to make the trek to Europe risk their lives, often departing without preparing for the journey’s challenges. They put themselves at the mercy of […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Nov 2, 2015

Top News: November 2, 2015

By SyriaSource

– Syria rebels using caged captives as human shields– EU gives 28 million euros to Syrian refugees in Jordan; US pledges $100 million to rebels– ISIS overruns town in central Syria– Syria Kurdish-Arab alliance launches first anti-ISIS attack– Turkey returns to single-party rule in boost for Erdogan– Turkish, US air strikes kill more than fifty ISIS militants in Syria

Syria

SyriaSource

Nov 2, 2015

The Vienna Joint Communique: Way Forward or Death Warrant?

By Frederic C. Hof

The clearest indicator that the October 30th meeting in Vienna on Syria may have fallen short of a substantive breakthrough was State Department spokesman John Kirby’s awkward attempt to sell the meeting’s communique as an improvement over what was agreed by the Permanent Five members of the United Nations and others in Geneva over three […]

Syria

In the News

Nov 1, 2015

Hof on US Special Operations Forces in Syria

By Frederic Hof

Newsmax quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on why President Obama’s decision to send US special operations forces to Syria will not be enough to change the situation significantly:

Syria

In the News

Oct 31, 2015

Hof on Regional Efforts to Solve the Crisis in Syria

By Frederic Hof

Reuters quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on President Obama’s decision to send US special operations forces to Syria, and why it may lead more regional powers to provide on-the-ground assistance:

Syria

In the News

Oct 31, 2015

Hof on Special Operations in Syria

By Frederic C. Hof

Defense News quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on the effectiveness of sending US special operations forces to Syria to advise anti-ISIS groups:

Syria

In the News

Oct 31, 2015

Hof on Obama’s Policy in Syria

By Frederic C. Hof

The Associated Press quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on President Obama’s announcement to deploy special operations troops to Syria:

Syria

In the News

Oct 31, 2015

Hof on Syria Policy

By Frederic Hof

The Fayo Observer quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on the change in the Obama administration’s military policy and action in Syria to combat ISIS:

Syria

In the News

Oct 31, 2015

Hof on the Situation in Syria

By Frederic C. Hof

The Guardian quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on the effect of sending US special operations forces to Syria:

Syria

SyriaSource

Oct 30, 2015

Civil Society is a Force that Threatens the Enemies of Democracy—Bashar al-Assad and Islamic Factions

By Nouriddin Abdo

Despite their best efforts, pro-democracy groups in Idlib and Aleppo, provinces with a strong opposition presence, have failed in their repeated attempts to create a strong, civil administrative system in the vacuum left by the Assad regime. The challenges these pro-democracy groups face vary significantly between the two provinces. Nonetheless, the greatest threat to a […]

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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