دمکراسی و اصلاح

New oil, gas, and infrastructure initiatives have continued rolling in since the Trump administration’s removal of sanctions, but they may amount to little in the long term unless more is done to build Syria’s own capacity, tamp down on political tensions, and address bureaucratic confusion.

American assistance to the Middle East apparently won’t be cut back as drastically as the Trump administration hoped, but questions abound regarding the diluted department’s capacity to actually use the restored funds effectively.

The high-level Saudi delegation to a Damascus investment conference indicates Riyadh is betting on President Sharaa.

A Syrian official and a panel of experts debate the response to recent sectarian bloodshed in the south, including what must be done to protect minorities and pursue true transitional justice post-Assad.

Washington should help Algiers embrace greater openness, both to promote stability in North Africa and to advance U.S. interests like counterterrorism and economic competition with China.

The Supreme Leader and his domestic echo chambers have shown a remarkable shift in emphasis from religious authority to full-throated pre-revolutionary nationalism, and Washington should adjust its messaging accordingly.

Two human rights experts discuss the chances that Iran’s domestic crackdown will escalate under the ceasefire, while a former CIA manager explains why the clock is rapidly ticking away on key elements needed to effectively monitor the damaged nuclear program.

Although definitively identifying the group responsible for the bombing may take more time, authorities in Damascus and Washington already have more than enough information to beef up their security cooperation and reassure Syrian minorities that they won’t be targeted.

The government’s plans for (and capacity to carry out) amnesties and transitional justice remain uncertain, spurring some Sunnis and Alawites to take matters into their own hands and contribute to a rising wave of intercommunal violence.