Aaron Y. Zelin is the Gloria and Ken Levy Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy where his research focuses on Sunni Arab jihadi groups in North Africa and Syria as well as the trend of foreign fighting and online jihadism.
Ambassador is the Philip Solondz Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute. He is a former U.S. special representative for Syria engagement and former U.S. ambassador to Turkey and Iraq.
Brief Analysis
Join us for an expert conversation examining the state of play in Syria one year after the fall of the Assad regime in 2024. Watch a live webcast of this event starting at 12:00 noon EST (1700 GMT) on Thursday, December 4, 2025.
One year since the fall of the Assad regime, much of the Syria policy discussion has focused on security- and sanctions-related issues. Yet decisionmakers also need to better understand how the new state has approached the monumental task of rebuilding broken institutions and extending its governance efforts. Thus far, the process has shown positive signs—including major foreign investment pledges and improvements in the country’s acute energy situation—but also negative developments such as widespread vigilantism and interference by nascent shadow institutions.
To better understand these dynamics and help the new Syria succeed in year two, The Washington Institute is pleased to announce a virtual Policy Forum with Ambassador James Jeffrey and Aaron Y. Zelin, author of a soon-to-be-published Institute report on the nuances of post-Assad institution-building and governance. The event will be moderated by Blumenstein-Rosenbloom Senior Fellow Devorah Margolin.
Watch a live webcast of this event starting at 12:00 noon EST (1700 GMT) on Thursday, December 4, 2025.
Aaron Y. Zelin is the Institute’s Gloria and Ken Levy Senior Fellow and author of its 2022 study The Age of Political Jihadism: A Study of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, focusing on the group that has since taken over the Syrian state. He has conducted two field research trips to Syria over the past year.
James Jeffrey, the Institute’s Philip Solondz Distinguished Fellow, formerly served as U.S. special representative for Syria, special envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, and ambassador to Turkey and Iraq.
The Policy Forum series is made possible through the generosity of the Florence and Robert Kaufman Family.
