Featured reading

ISIS’s Cup is Half Full

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

ISIS’s Cup is Half Full

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

ISIS’s Cup is Half Full

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

ISIS’s Cup is Half Full

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

ISIS’s Cup is Half Full

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.

LEARN MORE

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

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

SyriaSource

Oct 13, 2015

ISIS’s Cup is Half Full

By Feras Hanoush

“Ali” is a former Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) fighter. Before joining ISIS, he was a university student known among his friends for his kindness and friendliness. His joining has bewildered his friends, especially since ISIS killed a close relative of his. His uncle said of him, “I was responsible for raising Ali. I know […]

Syria
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Feb. 9, 2015

NATOSource

Oct 12, 2015

The Role of Egypt in Russia’s New Power Play in the Middle East

By Nicholas Varangis

In a GOP debate hosted by CNN, Senator Marco Rubio asserted that Russia is “trying to replace (the United States) as the single most important power broker in the Middle East.”

North Africa Russia

In the News

Oct 12, 2015

Herbst and Hof on Russia’s Intervention in Syria

By John Herbst and Fred Hof

Defense News quotes Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Director John E. Herbst and Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on Russia’s intervention in Syria and the recently announced intelligence-sharing agreement between Iran, Syria, and Russia:

Iran Russia

In the News

Oct 10, 2015

Hof on Training Syrian Rebels

By Frederic C. Hof

Bloomberg quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on the change of policy on training Syrian rebel groups:

Syria

In the News

Oct 9, 2015

Aslund on Russia’s Economy and Intervention in Syria

By Anders Aslund

Anadolu Agency Energy Terminal quotes Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Resident Senior Fellow Anders Aslund on Russia’s economy and whether it has the capacity to sustain a long-term intervention in Syria:

Russia Syria

In the News

Oct 9, 2015

Stein on Increased US Presence in Turkey

By Aaron Stein

BuzzFeed News quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Aaron Stein on reports that the United States is increasing its presence at Incirlik airbase in Turkey ahead of an offensive against the ISIS stronghold in Raqqa, Syria:

Syria Turkey

In the News

Oct 9, 2015

Itani on the Failed Training Program in Syria

By Faysal Itani

The Huffington Post quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Fellow Faysal Itani on the Obama administration’s failed training program for Syrian rebels and what it means moving forward for the fight against ISIS in Syria:

Syria

In the News

Oct 9, 2015

Karatnycky: Putin Tries to Change the Subject

By Adrian Karatnycky

Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Adrian Karatnycky cowrites for POLITICO Europe on why the West shouldn’t mistake Russia’s warring in Syria as a sign of strength:

Russia Syria

MENASource

Oct 8, 2015

The Incirlik Expansion and the US-Turkish Strategy to Fight ISIS

By Aaron Stein

After nine months of negotiations, the United States and Turkey reached an agreement to open Turkish airbases for strike missions against the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) in late July 2015. Since then, the United States has stationed six F-16s at Incirlik and search and rescue aircraft at Diyarbakir airbase.

Syria Turkey

In the News

Oct 8, 2015

Ullman: Barack Obama, a Fantastical Strategist?

By Harlan Ullman

Atlantic Council Senior Adviser Harlan Ullman writes for the Pakistani Daily Times on President Obama’s potential strategy in Syria amid Russian intervention:

Russia 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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