Featured reading

The limits of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and what Syrians can learn

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
The limits of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and what Syrians can learn

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
The limits of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and what Syrians can learn

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
The limits of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and what Syrians can learn

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
The limits of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and what Syrians can learn

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

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
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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.

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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

MENASource

Sep 16, 2020

The limits of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and what Syrians can learn

By Reem Salahi and Bachar El-Halabi

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s shortcomings provide multiple lessons for future accountability in Syria.

Lebanon Middle East

MENASource

Sep 2, 2020

Caesar Act: The Syrian people are sapped while Assad grows stronger

By Qussai Jukhadar & Elizabeth Tsurkov

The Bashar al-Assad regime is unconcerned about Syrian lives and, thus, worsening economic misery is unlikely to shift its calculations.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Aug 24, 2020

The Caesar Act might alter the UAE’s normalization policy with Syria

By Emily Santucci

Even if the US chooses to withhold more punitive measures against Emirati entities for the time being, Abu Dhabi’s posture of rapprochement with Syria may come under closer scrutiny from Washington down the road.

Politics & Diplomacy Syria

MENASource

Aug 21, 2020

Will nine years of war and deteriorating governance spark a new movement inside Syria?

By Noura Darwish

Unbearable living conditions and a lack of hope in both the Assad regime and the international community have pushed Syrians to a new level of anger and outrage. It would be a mistake to think that this alone will push people to act after nine years of war and so much loss. However, it would be a bigger mistake to let this opportunity slip without trying to seize it in order to bring positive change to the Syrian people who are so desperately in need of it.

Politics & Diplomacy Syria

MENASource

Aug 12, 2020

The Syrian regime wheels and deals minorities to remain in power

By Ayman Abdel Nour

The Bashar al-Assad regime operates merely to preserve itself, undermining chances of Syrians uniting across religious and ethnic lines.

Politics & Diplomacy Syria

MENASource

Jul 31, 2020

The American moment: Creating a new balance of power in Syria

By Ayman Abdel Nour and Dania Koleilat Khatib

The United States should seize this moment on changes in the Syrian landscape to create a new balance of power in Damascus.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Jul 31, 2020

The Syrian parliamentary elections were a mockery

By Michel Duclos

All in all, the July 19 result was not great for the Bashar al-Assad regime, but the veneer of a normal election was achieved, especially given that the low turnout could be excused by the pandemic.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Jul 30, 2020

Syria’s inconsequential 2021 presidential elections must be ignored

By Jomana Qaddour and Danny al-Baaj

Russia and the United States will still have to contend with Iranian influence and its far more substantial ground presence in Syria.

Politics & Diplomacy Syria

MENASource

Jul 30, 2020

Iran-Syria air defense pact could cause Russian-Iranian friction

By Mark N. Katz

Neither Damascus nor Tehran has been happy about Moscow’s unwillingness to enable themselves or Syria to halt Israeli attacks. The signing of the Iran-Syria air defense pact, though, may change this.

Iran Middle East
refugee resilience

New Atlanticist

Jul 21, 2020

Turkey offers blueprint for future migrant crises

By Larry Luxner

Turkey hopes the relatively successful integration of some four million Syrian war refugees into its economy will inspire other countries straining under a sudden, massive influx of migrants.

Conflict Migration
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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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