Featured reading

Itani on No-Fly Zones Over 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

Itani on No-Fly Zones Over 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

Itani on No-Fly Zones Over 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

Itani on No-Fly Zones Over 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

Itani on No-Fly Zones Over 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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Content

In the News

Sep 11, 2015

Itani on No-Fly Zones Over Syria

By Faysal Itani

Rafik Hariri Center Resident Fellow Faysal Itani joins CBC Radio’s The Current with Anna Maria Tremonti to discuss the need for no-fly zones over Syria and a zero-tolerance policy for regime aircraft caught flying in those zones: 

Syria

SyriaSource

Sep 10, 2015

Obama’s Failure to Stop Assad Contributes to Refugee Crisis

By Frederic C. Hof

The following is an excerpt from an article by Frederic Hof, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, originally published by Foreign Policy on September 9, 2015.

Iran Russia

In the News

Sep 10, 2015

Itani on US Accepting Syrian Refugees

By Faysal Itani

The Washington Post quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Fellow Faysal Itani on how an influx of Syrian refugees to the United States would affect US policy on Syria:

Syria

MENASource

Sep 10, 2015

The implications of violent conflict between the PKK and the Turkish Republic

By Aaron Stein

Members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) killed two police officers in Urfa on July 22, purportedly in retaliation for an Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) inspired suicide bombing of a leftist meeting in the border town of Suruç. In response, Turkey struck PKK bases in Iraqi Kurdistan and southeastern Turkey. This prompted a sharp […]

Syria Turkey
Syrian President Bashar Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Jan. 25, 2005

NATOSource

Sep 9, 2015

Russian Troops Join Combat in Syria – Sources

By Reuters

Russian forces have begun participating in military operations in Syria in support of government troops, three Lebanese sources familiar with the political and military situation there said on Wednesday.

NATO Russia

In the News

Sep 9, 2015

Hof: Obama, Open Your Eyes

By Frederic C. Hof

Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof writes for Foreign Policy on the Obama administration’s Syria policy and its connection to the current migrant crisis:

Syria Turkey

In the News

Sep 9, 2015

Herbst on Russian Advisers in Syria

By John E. Herbst

The Washington Post quotes Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Director John E. Herbst on the presence of Russian advisers in Syria:

Russia Syria

In the News

Sep 9, 2015

Blanford: Why Russia Has Boosted Its Military Presence in Syria Now

By Nicholas Blanford

Middle East Peace and Security Initiative Nonresident Senior Fellow Nicholas Blanford writes for the Christian Science Monitor on the reason behind Russia’s support of the Assad regime and quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on the Obama administration’s Syria policy: 

Russia Syria
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, May 11, 2015

NATOSource

Sep 8, 2015

NATO Chief Concerned by Reported Russian Military Build-Up in Syria

By AFP

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Tuesday voiced concern over reports of a Russian military build-up in Syria, warning that any support for Bashar Assad would escalate the bloody conflict.

NATO Russia

In the News

Sep 8, 2015

Hof on the Gridlocked Syrian Diplomacy

By Frederic C. Hof

Al-Monitor quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on US-Syrian negotiations now complicated by Russian involvement:

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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