All Policy Analysis by Aaron Y. Zelin

By taking urgent steps to institutionalize the wartime partnerships formed with (and between) Ukraine, the Gulf states, and Syria, Congress can strike heavy long-term blows against hostile Russian influence in the Middle East.

The war’s effects on Syria have largely fallen below the radar, yet no one should forget how much has changed there since 2024, nor how important it is to preserve the government’s accomplishments against Iran and its partners while acknowledging the conflict’s local economic consequences.

The two conflicts may appear unrelated, but an al-Qaeda haven in Iran, threats from the Islamic State, and separatist ambitions could supercharge the risks to regional and global security.

Washington Institute experts assess the immediate fallout of the Syrian government’s advance into SDF-held parts of the northeast, including mutual disinformation campaigns, implications for the Islamic State threat, the terms of new agreements with the Kurds, and the calculus of outside actors like the United States, Israel, and Turkey.

Although some Christians have been targeted post-Assad, these incidents are hardly an attempted "genocide," but rather part of the broader internal security challenge affecting all communities in Syria, including the majority population.

A former U.S. envoy to Syria joins an expert on President Sharaa’s ruling faction to discuss how Damascus should approach governance issues one year after the fall of Assad.

The transitional leadership can claim several successes, but a shadow government, opaque economic practices, and uneven accountability for former regime crimes could undermine progress.

An in-depth look at the legal regime that Syria's transitional authorities have put in place to deal with religious minorities, focusing on how its policies have played out in a climate of ongoing violence and public distrust.

After meeting with Sharaa and returning from an extensive research trip in Syria, a Washington Institute expert sheds light on the president’s UN speech, near-term plans, and views on the U.S. role.

A panel of American, Israeli, and Syrian experts discuss the prospects of cooperation and normalization between the two longtime belligerents, including the U.S. role in achieving such a deal.

Although skepticism is understandable given the background of those now leading Syria’s government and security forces, removing the FTO designation is an unprecedented counterterrorism decision with numerous potential benefits and ripple effects.

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.

Beijing specializes in exactly the type of infrastructure reconstruction assistance that Syria so urgently needs and may look to exploit any further delays or prohibitions stemming from U.S. export controls.

An in-depth study of how the Islamic State’s administrative apparatus and activities in its Syrian “capital” affected local residents, and how it sought to instrumentalize the populace in a quest to sustain its wider international state-building project for the long term.

Even before a high-profile new attack in the east, shifting trends in the number, nature, and location of plots showed why the United States isn’t quite ready to take a victory lap in the battle against IS in Syria.

The two leaders raised a wide array of crucial proposals, giving Secretary Rubio and the rest of the Trump team unprecedented room to set the terms for a mutually beneficial post-sanctions relationship.

Watch or read an in-depth conversation with three experts who have spent weeks on the ground in Syria and met with the interim authorities who toppled the Assad regime.

Amid fears of Uyghur militancy and hopes of expanding business ties with Syria, Beijing has been rapidly adapting to the new reality in Damascus.

An in-depth look at how the new rulers tackled these counterterrorism issues in Idlib province for years prior to Assad’s fall, and what steps they are taking at the national level today.

Amid mounting civilian deaths and rampant disinformation, the conduct of Syria’s fact-finding committee will either make or break the new government’s legitimacy and the prospects for a stable transition.