Recent analysis

Lebanese Visa Restrictions Set Significant Precedent for Syrian Refugees

New Atlanticist
Dec 17, 2024

Dispatch from Damascus: Celebrations and concerns as a new Syria takes shape

By
Ömer Özkizilcik

Syrians in Damascus are celebrating the fall of the Assad regime, but that joy is mixed with concern for how the country’s new leaders will govern.

Conflict
Crisis Management

Lebanese Visa Restrictions Set Significant Precedent for Syrian Refugees

MENASource
Jun 20, 2025

On World Refugee Day, complexities persist for Syrian returnees

By
Sinan Hatahet

While Syria’s political shift brings new hope, it also highlights the complex realities that still define the Syrian landscape.

Middle East
Migration

Lebanese Visa Restrictions Set Significant Precedent for Syrian Refugees

MENASource
Jun 10, 2025

Why DDR programs are the missing link to Syrian stability

By
Muhsen al-Mustafa

With the end of Western sanctions, Syria faces a rare opportunity to address the imbalances of the post-conflict period.

Middle East
Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

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

Former fellow


Qutaiba Idlbi


Former Resident Senior Fellow, Syria

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Economic Sanctions
Entrepreneurship

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Michel Duclos


Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Conflict
Crisis Management

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Arwa Damon


Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic
Civil Society

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Ömer Özkizilcik


Nonresident Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic
English

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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

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

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

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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

Content

MENASource

Jan 8, 2015

Lebanese Visa Restrictions Set Significant Precedent for Syrian Refugees

By MENASource

In an interview with the New Atlanticist, Faysal Itani, a fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, argues that the Lebanese government’s decision to impose visa restrictions on Syrian refugees sets a “significant precedent.”

Middle East Syria

New Atlanticist

Jan 7, 2015

A Troubling New Obstacle for Syrians Fleeing War

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Lebanon’s Restriction on Entry Sets ‘Significant Precedent,’ Atlantic Council’s Itani Says This week’s decision by the Lebanese government to impose visa restrictions on Syrians fleeing a bloody civil war is “quite dramatic” and sets a “significant precedent” for Syria’s neighbors, which are struggling to care for masses of refugees, according to Faysal Itani, resident fellow […]

Middle East Syria
Syrian rebel in Aleppo, Nov. 5, 2012

NATOSource

Jan 5, 2015

Report: Joint US-Turkey Training of Syrian Rebels to Begin in March

By Reuters

Turkey and the United States aim to finalize an agreement on equipping and training moderate Syrian rebels this month, a senior foreign ministry official said on Monday, part of the U.S.-led campaign to battle Islamic State militants.

Syria Turkey

MENASource

Jan 5, 2015

Syria: The Gutman Report

By Frederic C. Hof

Turkey-based, Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Roy Gutman of McClatchy closed out 2014 with a dispatch that would be shocking if only there were still capacity for shock when it comes to Washington’s Syria policy. Gutman reported being told by Syrian opposition leaders of being ignored by the Obama administration last April when they warned of […]

Syria

Article

Jan 2, 2015

Fragmented Syria in Search of a Referee

By Barbara Slavin

As 2014 draws to a close, the war in Syria grinds on. The main combatants continue to pummel each other like punch drunk fighters, with no referee to make them stop.

Syria

In the News

Jan 1, 2015

al-Kattan in Syria Studies: Mapping the Ailing (but Resilient) Syrian Banking Sector

By Rashad al-Kattan

Read the full article here.

Syria

In the News

Dec 26, 2014

Slavin on Russia, Cuba, Syria

By Barbara Slavin

South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin joins Voice of America’s Issues in the News to discuss latest developments in Russia, Syria, Iraq, and Cuba: 

Russia Syria

MENASource

Dec 24, 2014

ISIS’s Governance Crisis (Part II): Social Services

By Mona Alami

In its fourth issue of its English-language newsletter Dabig, the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) boasted that a “state cannot be established” unless it looked after both the “worldly and the religious needs” of Muslims. With that specific goal in mind, ISIS has entrenched itself in the daily life of residents of the region straddling […]

Iraq Syria

In the News

Dec 22, 2014

Hof on the “Analyst in Chief”

By Frederic C. Hof

Reuters quotes Rafik Hariri Center Senior Fellow Frederic Hof on US policy toward Syria: 

Syria

In the News

Dec 22, 2014

Slavin: United States to Accept Syrian Refugees for Resettlement

By Barbara Slavin

South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin writes for Al-Monitor on the Syrian refugee situation:

Syria
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Experts

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Nicholas Blanford

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Conflict

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Alia Brahimi

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Civil Society

Fellow

Lesley Chavkin

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Economic Statecraft Initiative GeoEconomics Center

Africa Economy & Business

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Hagar Hajjar Chemali

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Economic Statecraft Initiative GeoEconomics Center

Economic Sanctions Economy & Business

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Arwa Damon

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Civil Society

Fellow

Michel Duclos

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Conflict Crisis Management
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