Recent analysis

Iconoclasm & the Islamic State: Image-Maker vs. Image-Breaker

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

Iconoclasm & the Islamic State: Image-Maker vs. Image-Breaker

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

Iconoclasm & the Islamic State: Image-Maker vs. Image-Breaker

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.

LEARN MORE

Featured experts

Former fellow


Qutaiba Idlbi


Former Resident Senior Fellow, Syria

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Economic Sanctions
Entrepreneurship

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

Public Event
Mon, March 18, 2024 • 1:00 pm ET

The Syria Strategy Project: A public launch

Civil Society
Conflict
Freedom and Prosperity
Human Rights

Online Event
Mon, February 12, 2024 • 12:00 pm ET

One year on: Assessing the February 6th earthquake response in Syria

Civil Society
Economy & Business
Human Rights
International Organizations

Online Event
Fri, May 31, 2024 • 9:30 am ET

Serving communities with disability in conflict contexts

Civil Society
Conflict
Crisis Management
Human Rights

Load More

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

Oct 2, 2014

Iconoclasm & the Islamic State: Image-Maker vs. Image-Breaker

By Matthew Hall

A Q&A With Dr. James Noyes, Part II of III More than merely a terror group, the Islamic State is a violent state-building project, conquering territory with the intent to rule. In clearing the landscape to impose this political agenda, an essential component of the group’s military advance has been the systematic destruction of holy […]

Syria

MENASource

Oct 1, 2014

Assad Still An Enemy in the Fight Against ISIS

By Frederic C. Hof

In an interview with the Associated Press on Monday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem offered a remarkable, if dubious revelation: that Washington sent three separate messages to Damascus 24 hours in advance of the September 23 airstrikes on Islamic State (IS) targets in Syria, each one saying, “We are not after the Syrian army or the Syrian […]

Syria

In the News

Sep 29, 2014

Hof on Intelligence Assessments of ISIS

By Frederic C. Hof

The Daily Telegraph quotes Rafik Hariri Center Senior Fellow Frederic Hof on whether the US intelligence community was caught off guard by the Islamic State’s seemingly unexpected expansion into Iraq and Syria:

Iraq Syria

In the News

Sep 28, 2014

Hof on US Options in Syria

By Frederic C. Hof

The Washington Post cites Rafik Hariri Center Senior Fellow Frederic Hof on US policy on Syria:

Syria

New Atlanticist

Sep 26, 2014

Is This Obama’s Golden Foreign Policy Moment?

By Barry Pavel

Four Key Lessons for the Rest of the Obama Term President Barack Obama’s tough speech before the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday struck a very different tone from his past foreign policy speeches, which often highlighted the drawdown of US military forces from overseas conflicts. Instead, this time, and before a global audience, President […]

Middle East Syria

Article

Sep 25, 2014

Arab allies key in fight against ISIS

By Nicholas Burns

President Obama was right to order airstrikes against the ISIS home base in northern Syria Monday night. There was no alternative but to target ISIS headquarters in Raqqa and other locations where the terrorist group has built up a considerable infrastructure. The US strategy to contain ISIS and to prevent it from dismembering Iraq cannot […]

Middle East Syria

MENASource

Sep 24, 2014

Air Strikes in Syria: One Hand Clapping

By Frederic C. Hof

The decision of the Obama administration to strike Islamic State targets (as well as some associated with another al-Qaeda derivative) in Syria is laudable. The participation of multiple Arab partners is commendable: the fight against this vacuum-filling band of murderers, torturers, and thieves is, in its essence, an Arab fight against pagan barbarism.

Iran Russia

New Atlanticist

Sep 23, 2014

Here’s How the US Attacks on ISIS Might Alter the Civil War in Syria

By New Atlanticist

As the United States conducts missile and air strikes on the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) in Syria, it could reap the additional strategic benefit of tilting the war there away from the Assad regime and jihadist forces, and in favor of the mainstream rebel groups to which it has given some support. […]

Syria

MENASource

Sep 23, 2014

Kurdish-Arab Rebel Alliance May be Key to Obama’s Syrian Strategy

By Mutlu Civiroglu and Wladimir van Wilgenburg

Now that the anti-ISIS coalition has struck Raqqa in Syria, it must seriously consider the Kurds as its most effective on the ground partners. The Obama administration needs local partners in Iraq and Syria to fight against the jihadist group, the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS, ISIL, or the Islamic State) if it […]

Iraq Syria

MENASource

Sep 23, 2014

Who Benefits After US Airstrikes in Syria?

By Faysal Itani

US airstrikes against ISIS have so far focused on its positions in Deir Ezzor, Hasaka, and Raqqa provinces—the latter being the capital province of the so-called Caliphate—and include Raqqa city, Tabqa, Ain Issa, Deir Ezzor city, and Tel Abyad.

Syria
Load More

Experts

Fellow

Marie Forestier 

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic French

Fellow

Ibrahim Al-Assil

Resident Senior Fellow, Syria Project

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Conflict

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
Load More