Featured reading

Assad is appointing new military officials to escape sanctions on Syria

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
Assad is appointing new military officials to escape sanctions on Syria

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
Assad is appointing new military officials to escape sanctions on Syria

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
Assad is appointing new military officials to escape sanctions on Syria

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
Assad is appointing new military officials to escape sanctions on Syria

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

Former fellow

Qutaiba Idlbi

Former 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

Event Recap

Oct 30, 2023

Addressing the captagon crisis in MENA: Strategies & Challenges

By Diane Mohamed and Rachel Friedman

The Syria Program hosted a panel discussion taking stock of current captagon landscape in Syria and captagon’s place within the global illicit supply chain.

Corruption Crisis Management
Public Event Thu, September 28, 2023 • 12:20 pm ET

Addressing the captagon crisis in MENA: Strategies & challenges
Civil Society Corruption Economy & Business Freedom and Prosperity
Public Event Wed, July 19, 2023 • 9:00 am ET

How can the United States counter normalization with Assad in the Middle East
Civil Society Human Rights International Organizations Middle East
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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

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



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Content

MENASource

Jun 9, 2023

Assad is appointing new military officials to escape sanctions on Syria

By Muhsen AlMustafa

Of the thirty Syrian army and security officers in new leadership positions, only two are blacklisted. This indicates a significant gap.

Economic Sanctions Middle East

Fast Thinking

May 28, 2023

What the world should expect from Erdogan now

By Atlantic Council

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan triumphed in his re-election bid on Sunday. Our experts break down what to expect next on the war in Ukraine, NATO enlargement, Syria, and more.

Conflict Elections

New Atlanticist

May 25, 2023

How to hold the Assad regime accountable, even as countries normalize relations with Syria

By Elise Baker

There remains a slate of accountability tools for Syria, and certain avenues for seeking accountability may even be expanding with normalization.

Corruption Human Rights

MENASource

May 19, 2023

Experts react: Assad gets warm reception at Arab summit. Where does that leave the US and its allies?

By Qutaiba Idlbi, Gissou Nia, Michel Duclos, Emadeddin Badi

Atlantic Council experts react to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad's attendance at the Arab League summit in Jeddah and explain its significance below. 

Human Rights Middle East

New Atlanticist

May 19, 2023

Can Arab League states ‘get something’ for readmitting Assad?

By Qutaiba Idlbi

Pre-summit conversations centered around three issues: the return of refugees, countering narcotics, and the reestablishing the state authority and institutions in Syria.

Conflict Middle East

IranSource

May 16, 2023

The Arab League thinks readmitting Syria will push out Iran. They’re wrong.

By David Daoud

The logic of drawing Bashar al-Assad back into the Arab League is unsound, founded on the faulty premise that there remains such a thing as an independent Syrian regime to woo back from Tehran.

Iran Middle East

MENASource

May 16, 2023

Syrian refugees fear normalization with Assad. Because it means they will have to return—and not by choice.

By Arwa Damon

Syrian refugees fear that “normalization” of ties will boost the narrative that “Syria is safe now,” giving further justification to rid Syrian refugee populations.

Human Rights Lebanon

In the News

May 5, 2023

Rich Outzen joins TV7 Israel News to discuss Turkey-Syria normalization
Conflict Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

May 3, 2023

It’s broken: The humanitarian response is keeping Syrians in a loop of helplessness

By Arwa Damon

The Atlantic Council's Arwa Damon shares insights from a recent visit to Idlib province in northwestern Syria, where the humanitarian situation remains dire.

Crisis Management Human Rights

UkraineAlert

Apr 27, 2023

Iranian and Syrian factors shape Israeli response to Russia’s Ukraine invasion

By Joseph Roche

Israel has sought to minimize its involvement in the international response to Vladimir Putin's Ukraine invasion, but deepening military cooperation between Russia and Iran may force a change in the Israeli position.

Conflict Defense Technologies
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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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