Featured reading

Syria: Surefire Alternatives To Failure?

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

Syria: Surefire Alternatives To Failure?

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

Syria: Surefire Alternatives To Failure?

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

Syria: Surefire Alternatives To Failure?

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

Syria: Surefire Alternatives To Failure?

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

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

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

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Content

MENASource

Feb 21, 2014

Syria: Surefire Alternatives To Failure?

By Frederic C. Hof

In a recent (February 19, 2014) editorial, The New York Times channeled Obama administration thinking on Syria’s war and peace dichotomy. “But, so far, no one has come up with surefire remedies or even new ideas that would not draw the United States into a war … Mr. Obama has resisted being pushed into a […]

Syria

In the News

Feb 21, 2014

Itani on Secretary Kerry’s Diplomatic Efforts in the Middle East

By Faysal Itani

The Washington Examiner quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Fellow Faysal Itani on Secretary John Kerry’s diplomatic efforts in the Middle East:

Syria

In the News

Feb 21, 2014

Itani on US policy in Syria: “Kerry is Trapped”

By Faysal Itani

The Washington Examiner quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Fellow Faysal Itani on Secretary John Kerry’s foreign policy strategy:

Syria Ukraine

Uncategorized

Feb 20, 2014

Slavin on Aleppo Survey

By Barbara Slavin

South Asia Center Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin writes on the recent survey of Aleppo residents for Al Monitor:

Iran Syria

MENASource

Feb 20, 2014

Syria: There Is No Arm’s-Length Solution

By Frederic C. Hof

Geneva II was an attempt to fill that which nature abhors: a vacuum. Yet the vast emptiness of US policy toward Syria swallowed the effort itself, making it seem tiny, silly, and futile. President Bashar al-Assad’s regime calculated that it could treat the initiative with contempt. Although the opposition delegation in Geneva acted with competence […]

Syria

MENASource

Feb 20, 2014

A Holding Action in Lebanon

By Faysal Itani

After ten months of stalling and infighting, Lebanon’s political factions have formed a cabinet. This does not indicate a broader political compromise, a willingness to tackle intractable and divisive issues, or a plan to address the country’s serious socio-economic problems. Rather, the cabinet’s significance lies in its makeup and the interesting compromises that led to […]

Middle East Syria

MENASource

Feb 18, 2014

Syria: Back To Basics

By Frederic C. Hof

In his 2014 Munich Security Conference remarks, Henry Kissinger commented that democracies must, in foreign policy, articulate clear objectives within parameters that the public can support. In the specific case of Syria, said Kissinger, the objective has to be about more than the removal of a person. Ideally the Obama administration used the pause offered […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Feb 14, 2014

A Srebrenica Moment in Syria?

By R. Nicholas Burns

As the savage killings and stratospheric refugee numbers in Syria continue to climb, a key question emerges. When will the United States and other global powers experience a “Srebrenica moment,” when they can no longer stand on the sidelines and resolve instead that they finally have to act?

Russia Syria
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Jan. 28, 2014

NATOSource

Feb 14, 2014

Russia, NATO Plan Joint Operation on Syria’s Chemical Weapons

By Gabriela Baczynska and Adrian Croft, Reuters

Russia and NATO are drawing up plans for a rare joint naval operation in the Mediterranean to protect the U.S. ship that will destroy Syria’s deadliest chemical weapons, officials and other sources said.

NATO Russia

Report

Feb 12, 2014

The state of Arab transitions: Hope resilient despite many unmet demands

By Mirette F. Mabrouk and Stefanie A. Hausheer

Report authors Mirette F. Mabrouk, deputy director for regional programs, and Stefanie A. Hausheer, assistant director, examine the progress in achieving the original demands of protestors and contend that local actors would embrace greater international support to help facilitate genuine transitions. By examining six key themes—political polarization, constitution-drafting processes, transitional justice, economic progress, civil society […]

Civil Society Democratic Transitions
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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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