Syria

What makes someone become a violent Salafi rather than a non-violent Salafi depends on how they answer a basic question -- what makes someone Muslim?

Reflecting broad foreign policy themes dating to World War I, U.S. grand strategy in the Middle East since the Cold War has focused on establishing and managing a global security system to contain and deter outside threats. Given Eurasia's demographic and economic/technical strength, a dominant power or powers arising from

April 28, 2016 In the decades before 2011, Syria’s Baath Party flag, which controlled “society and state," and images of the president and “Leader” dominated all public platforms: the corridors of the state’s institutions and agencies, public squares, and even non-governmental institutions. This branding was most visible in educational institutions

Aside from President Obama, none of the main players in Syria has an interest in rushing toward Raqqa, so they will likely focus on exploiting the various campaigns around Aleppo instead.

The recent Russian "withdrawal" from Syria reflects not a parting of ways with Assad but rather frustration with the regime's poor performance on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.

Elements of the national army have officially joined the IRGC on Syria's battlefields, but Tehran's apparent public-relations strategy could backfire at home if casualties mount.

April 11, 2016 The “Declaration” presumably issued by Alawite notables and broadly covered by international media is a historic statement, irrespective of its political implications. While it commands international engagement, both to highlight its positive aspects and to invite its authors to expand on the less positive, it particularly ought

In this well-documented Research Note, Barak Barfi explores the evolution of the PYD -- the preeminent Kurdish faction in the Syrian conflict -- and its relationship to U.S. objectives.

March 31, 2016 The Iranian Shura Council and Assembly of Experts elections in February have resulted in gains for moderate reformists in a peaceful political contest. The elections’ contrast to the region’s political turmoil brings to mind the ironic words of British Parliamentarian Jock Bruce-Gardyne. In 1966, the politician described