Policy Analysis

The path towards reconciliation between Ankara and Damascus faces numerous obstacles, linked to a history of mistrust and significant gaps in major contentious issues.

With no prospects for a political solution to the Syrian crisis, the Turkish government's insistence on maintaining its previous policies in northern Syria and its usurpation of the Syrian people's decision-making warns of dire consequences for an already fragile relationship.

The Iranian model of creating and supporting proxy groups is consistent across the “Shia Crescent,” but recently Tehran has begun employing new and troubling tactics that threaten to only expand their influence.

The protest movement’s ability to weather pressures from the Assad regime has allowed Suwayda to remain an impressive display of solidarity, tenacity, and bravery, alongside a willingness after over a decade of conflict in Syria to still demand a better future.

Alignment between recovery efforts and the international coalition requires a comprehensive approach that prioritizes security, economic stabilization, and social cohesion.

Given the breakdown of the Lebanese state, Arab countries' normalization with Assad, and the fragmentation of the Syrian opposition, it seems that the United States can step in to play a pivotal role in protecting Syrian refugees facing persecution.

Using multiple militias and operating units, Tehran aims to drive the Americans out of eastern Syria, fill the resulting security vacuum, and assert indirect control.

Syrians inside the country and in refugee states await a true miracle, especially with their cause becoming highly internationalized and overshadowed by global events like the Gaza war.

The Islamic State’s response to October 7 has centered on shifting their messaging to argue that attacks on targets within IS’ pre-existing areas of operation are relevant.

With each day of nonviolent protest, the people of Suweida province have solidified themselves as a symbol that resonates with Syrians everywhere, whether abroad or within a country that remains split between regime, Iranian, Russian, Turkish, and local faction control.

The international community and the Global Coalition should pressure Turkey to cease its drone attacks and help to address the destruction of facilities and infrastructure installations.

According to new polling, the percentage of six Arab publics who believe America has had a positive role in the war amounts to just 7%.

The SDF’s current role in Deir ez-Zor and the local grievances surrounding it requires an understanding of the origin of its entry into the region, along with the underlying tension between U.S., Iranian, and Syrian regime interests there.

Syrians' responses to Hamas’ attack—and subsequent Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip—have been varied, splitting along regional, political, and ideological lines.

Recent developments will require the U.S. to expand its objectives in Syria and to reevaluate its approach to local alliances if it hopes to shape a positive outcome to the bubbling frustrations in Syria.

On Sunday August 27, Deir Ezzor Military Council (DEMC) Head Abu Khawla—along with a number of senior commanders from the DEMC—were invited to meet with the commander-in-chief in the SDF Mazloum Abdi in neighboring Al-Hasakah province.

Worried by the implications of Erdoğan's reelection, the Kurds in northeastern Syria need active support from the United States now more than ever.

The growing regional trend of normalization with Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria—including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and even Turkey—have stoked the anger of the Syrian opposition.

After months of delay, U.S. and Israeli government officials reportedly suggested that the second Negev Summit will proceed on June 25.

Though Syria policies were at the center of the Turkish elections, the future for many Syrians remains unclear even after an Erdoğan victory.