Syria

Economic Sanctions
Entrepreneurship

Fellows

Fellow

Michel Duclos

Conflict
Crisis Management

Fellow

Arwa Damon

Arabic
Civil Society

Fellow

Ömer Özkizilcik

Nonresident Fellow

Arabic
English

Fellow

Sinan Hatahet

Arabic
Economic Sanctions

Former fellow

Hind Kabawat

Former Nonresident Senior Fellow, Syria Project

Nonresident Fellow, Syria Project

Arabic
Civil Society

Fellow

Diana Rayes

Online Event
Thu, December 19, 2024 • 12:30 pm ET

Arabic
Civil Society

Past events

Putin loses in Syria. Is Russia in retreat?

Conflict
Europe & Eurasia
Middle East
Russia

Online Event
Tue, May 21, 2024 • 10:30 am ET

Exploring investment opportunities in northwest Syria

Conflict
Economic Sanctions
Economy & Business
Financial Regulation

Event Recap

Mar 29, 2024

Launching the Syria Strategy Project

By
JP Reppeto and Charles Johnson

On March 18, 2024, the Atlantic Council’s Syria Project, the Middle East Institute’s Syria Program, the European Institute of Peace, and Madaniya Civil Society Network launched the Syria Strategy, an intensive process of engagement with subject matter experts and policymakers in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East to develop a holistic strategy to […]

Civil Society
Conflict

Learn more about the Middle East Programs

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.

EXPLORE THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL’S MIDDLE EAST PROGRAMS

Sign up for the MENASource newsletter, highlighting pieces that follow democratic transitions and economic changes throughout the region.

Content

Emerging Defense Challenges

‘We Need a Freakin’ Budget’

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Congressman Adam Smith says cap-free defense budget needed to address global challenges The Pentagon needs a long-term budget that is free of caps if it is to address important global threats, including from Islamist militants, Russia, and China, a senior Democratic lawmaker said on Oct. 21. “We need a freakin’ budget,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), […]

Iran Russia

SyriaSource

Top News: Assad meets with Putin in Moscow

By Syria Source

President Bashar al-Assad has traveled to Moscow in his first known trip abroad since war broke out in Syria in 2011, meeting his strongest ally Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The two leaders stressed that military operations in Syria, in which Moscow is the latest and most powerful addition, must lead to a political process. Turkish […]

Syria

Russian warship celebrating Navy Day, July 26, 2015

NATOSource

Russia’s Syria Strategy Poses Challenge to NATO in Mediterranean

By Sam Jones, Financial Times

Russia’s military intervention in Syria is serving as a broader announcement of Moscow’s renewed determination to hold sway in the Middle East.

NATO Russia

SyriaSource

Europe, not the United States, Pays the Price of Failure in Syria

By Bassma Kodmani

Russian President Putin has decided that Syria is part of Russia’s near abroad, no less than Ukraine it seems, a territory where some vital national interests are at stake. He has predicted the fecklessness of Western powers well. Whether he is deploying his arsenal in Syria to fight Daesh or to bolster Assad, by moving […]

Syria

MENASource

Russia’s Attacks in Syria May Only Create More Jihadists

By Mona Alami

Russian President Vladimir Putin has labeled his entry into the Syrian conflict, following a rapid military buildup in the Latakia region, as a war on terror. Yet Russia’s very first airstrikes in Syria targeted areas where the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) had no known presence—regions occupied by the mainstream opposition, which the United States […]

Russia Syria

SyriaSource

Top News: UN says tens of thousands flee Syria regime offensive in Aleppo

By Syria Source

The Syrian government’s military offensive on the outskirts of the northern city of Aleppo has displaced thousands in recent days, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) says. A spokeswoman for UNOCHA said that the fighting had displaced 35,000 people from Hader and Zerbeh on the outskirts of the city in the past […]

Syria

SyriaSource

A Political Solution in Syria Needs to Break the Unholy Alliance

By Rashad al-Kattan

The intractable Syrian conflict has created the temptation to flirt with keeping in power Bashar al-Assad, the heir to the now 45-year-old al-Assad dynasty, through a political deal. But this will prove nothing more than a futile exercise of wishful thinking. The much-touted mantra of reaching a ‘political solution’ that keeps Assad in power belies […]

Syria

In the News

Itani on Iranian Troops in Syria

By Faysal Itani

Rafik Hariri Center Resident Fellow Faysal Itani joins CNN’s Situation Room to discuss Iran’s increasing engagement in the conflict in Syria and reports that Iranian troops are prepping for a major offensive near Aleppo:

Iran Syria

In the News

Oct 19, 2015

Hof on His Role as Special Adviser for Transition in Syria

By Frederic Hof

The Washington Post quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof from his recent article in POLITICO on his role as the Special Adviser for Transition in Syria:

Syria

In the News

Oct 19, 2015

Ricciardone on Turkey’s Elections and Syria

By Francis Ricciardone

Hurriyet quotes Vice President and Rafik Hariri Center Director Francis Ricciardone on the upcoming elections in Turkey and the need for coordination on Syria: Read the full article here.

Syria Turkey

Experts

Fellow

Amany Qaddour

Nonresident Fellow, Syria Project

Arabic Civil Society

Fellow

Diana Rayes

Digital Forensic Research Lab

Arabic Civil Society

Fellow

Lukas Andriukaitis

Nonresident Fellow

Disinformation Eastern Europe

Staff

Elise Baker

Senior Staff Lawyer, Strategic Litigation Project

Civil Society Extremism

Fellow

Nicholas Blanford

Arabic Conflict

Fellow

Alia Brahimi