Skip to main content
TWI logo The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
logo
wordmark
Homepage

Main navigation

  • Analysis
  • Experts
  • About
  • Support
  • Maps & Multimedia
Trending:
  • Great Power Competition
  • Proliferation
  • Turkey
  • Syria
  • Iran

Regions & Countries

  • Egypt
  • Gulf States
  • Iran
  • Iraq
  • Israel
  • Jordan
  • Lebanon
  • Middle East
  • North Africa
  • Palestinians
  • Syria
  • Turkey

Issues

  • Arab & Islamic Politics
  • Arab-Israeli Relations
  • Democracy & Reform
  • Energy & Economics
  • Great Power Competition
  • Gulf & Energy Policy
  • Military & Security
  • Peace Process
  • Proliferation
  • Terrorism
  • U.S. Policy
TWI English
TWI Arabic: اللغة العربية TWI Persian: فارسی Fikra Forum

Breadcrumb

  • Policy Analysis

Syria

Policy Analysis on Syria

Filter by:

Rocket crater, Omar oilfield in Syria, April 6, 2022
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Spring Awakening: A New Wave of Militia Strikes or Just a Blip?
Militia groups appear to be increasingly exercising their different kinetic capabilities in Iraq and Syria, but why now?
Apr 8, 2022
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Crispin Smith
◆ Militia Spotlight
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Chinese President Xi Jinping at a summit in Beijing - source: Reuters
Articles & Testimony
West’s Weakness Led Putin into Ukraine—and Other Enemies Are Looking for Similar Signs
Moscow has provided a wake-up call about how actors like Iran interpret habitual demonstrations of U.S. inaction.
Apr 8, 2022
◆
  • Dennis Ross
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed in 2018 - source: Reuters
Articles & Testimony
The Middle East—Read “Energy”—Complicates Ukraine Crisis
A new gas deal with Germany may help, but the Gulf states are taking a risk by intertwining urgent Western energy requests with seemingly tangential regional issues.
Mar 22, 2022
◆
  • Simon Henderson
NATO solderis with alliance and national flags
Articles & Testimony
How Putin and NATO Could Get Pulled Into a Disaster in Ukraine
Ukraine is no Syria, and Putin’s miscalculations are astonishing—but the West still faces grave risks of its own, including military escalation, mass refugee flows, and food shortages for Middle Eastern partners.
Mar 15, 2022
◆
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
Map illustrating strategies for preserving autonomy in northeast Syria.
Brief Analysis
How to Preserve the Autonomy of Northeast Syria
To offset the destabilizing measures coming from Turkey and the Assad axis, Western governments need to offer more development assistance—but in a targeted way that reassures local authorities and minimizes mismanagement.
Mar 15, 2022
◆
  • Fabrice Balanche
Illustration of chess pieces and the Russian and Ukrainian flags - source: Reuters
Video
Brief Analysis
How Will the Ukraine Crisis Affect Middle East Policy?
Three experts discuss whether the war might alter Washington’s calculus on rapprochement with Turkey, regional military deployments, and wider great power competition.
Mar 10, 2022
◆
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
  • Soner Cagaptay
  • Grant Rumley
Arab Spring Tunisia Yemen Bahrain Egypt Libya Syria
Audio
In-Depth Reports
No Going Back
Activists Reflect a Decade After the Arab Spring
Interviews with thirteen activists reveal a deep sense of disappointment but also a shared conviction that a new reform movement will eventually rise and deliver lasting change to the region.
Mar 7, 2022
◆
  • Roy Gutman
◆ Reform, Protest, Change
Humanitarian aid supplies in Lviv, Ukraine - Source: Reuters
Articles & Testimony
The Sinister Reason Russia Wants Humanitarian Corridors in Ukraine
Putin’s deep experience with manipulating ceasefires and humanitarian agreements in Syria gives ample reason to believe he will do the same in Ukraine.
Mar 4, 2022
◆
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
A Ukrainian flag flies at a naval base in Crimea in 2014 - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
Middle East Responses to the Ukraine Crisis
So far, official statements from the region have ranged from rejecting Russia’s moves to treating them as a natural extension of existing policy.
Updated Mar 4, 2022
◆
  • Margaret Dene
  • Hannah Labow
  • Carol Silber
United Nations headquarters building in New York - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
The UN Resolution on Ukraine: How Did the Middle East Vote?
A comprehensive record of what regional officials said—or didn’t say—about the emergency wartime vote in the General Assembly.
Mar 2, 2022
Video
Brief Analysis
Targeting the Islamic State: Jihadist Military Threats and the U.S. Response
Two scholars of jihadism assess the group's evolving approaches to conventional and insurgent warfare, and U.S. options for combating them.
Feb 22, 2022
◆
  • Ido Levy
  • Craig Whiteside
A Russian soldier and flag
Articles & Testimony
The Ukraine Crisis Isn’t Over: Russia Has Lied About Troop Withdrawals Before
In Afghanistan, Syria, and other conflict zones, Moscow has made a habit of obfuscating its intentions and actions via fake withdrawal announcements.
Feb 16, 2022
◆
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
Articles & Testimony
How to Make Russia Pay in Ukraine: Study Syria
Washington needs to show Putin that this will not be the limited intervention he was able to get away with in Syria, but rather a catalyst for dramatic NATO entrenchment and strategic setbacks.
Feb 15, 2022
◆
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
ISIS leader al-Hashimi, who died in a U.S. special forces raid in Syria on February 2, 2022 - source: U.S. Government
Brief Analysis
Second Islamic State Leader Killed in Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Territory
To shed light on the intentions and capabilities of the jihadist group that runs Idlib province, the Biden administration should clarify its relations with HTS, including any counterterrorism cooperation.
Feb 3, 2022
◆
  • Aaron Y. Zelin
Brief Analysis
Battle for al-Sinaa Prison: The Enduring Islamic State Threat in Syria
The military response to a major prison attack exhibited the strength of the U.S.-SDF partnership, but it also highlighted ongoing counterterrorism shortcomings.
Jan 31, 2022
◆
  • Ido Levy
Turkish President Erdogan meets Ukrainian President Zelenskiy in Kyiv - source: Reuters
Articles & Testimony
The Ukraine Crisis: East Meets Mideast?
In theory, Iran, Turkey, the Gulf, and other regional players offer potential leverage of various kinds over Moscow, but closer examination suggests that most of these links are of limited utility at best.
Jan 28, 2022
◆
  • David Pollock
Articles & Testimony
Is It Time to Get Tough With Russia?
If Washington wants Putin to act differently, it must demonstrate less risk aversion, whether in Ukraine or in Middle East conflict zones like Syria and Iraq.
Jan 27, 2022
◆
  • Dennis Ross
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
Sailors aboard a Turkish Naval Forces warship - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
Will Turkey Help Washington If Russia Invades Ukraine?
Fears of Russian military power may keep Ankara out of the spotlight, but its Black Sea calculations and Crimean Tatar sympathies indicate a willingness to assist behind the scenes if necessary.
Jan 26, 2022
◆
  • Soner Cagaptay
Illustration of chess pieces and the Russian and Ukrainian flags - source: Reuters
Articles & Testimony
Russia’s Desert Storm: Putin’s Plan to Use America’s Military Playbook Against Ukraine?
The lessons Moscow learned from the 1991 Gulf War and the 2015 Syria intervention reveal much about the strategy, tactics, and weapons systems it might use (or already be using) in Ukraine.
Jan 23, 2022
◆
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
Articles & Testimony
Russia’s Strategic Success in Syria and the Future of Moscow’s Middle East Policy
Washington’s tacit acquiescence to normalization with a war criminal has shown the world who won the Syria war—and, by extension, what can be gained from challenging U.S. policy.
Jan 23, 2022
◆
  • Anna Borshchevskaya

Pagination

  • Previous page ‹ Previous
  • First page « First
  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Current page 4
  • Page 5
  • Page 6
  • Page 7
  • Page 8
  • Page 9
  • …
  • Last page Last »
  • Next page Next ›
Supported by the

Program on Arab Politics

The Washington Institute's Program on Arab Politics focuses on social, political, and economic developments in the Arab world, with an emphasis on the Arab countries of the Levant.

Sign Up for Email Updates from The Washington Institute

Never miss a breaking event on U.S. policy interests in the Middle East. Customize your subscription to our expert analysis, op-eds, live events, and special reports.

Sign up

Featured experts

Michael Singh
Michael Singh
Michael Singh is the Managing Director and Lane-Swig Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute.
Grant Rumley
Grant Rumley
Grant Rumley is the Goldberger Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where he specializes in military and security affairs in the Middle East.
Background image with TWI branding
logo
wordmark
Homepage

1111 19th Street NW - Suite 500
Washington D.C. 20036
Tel: 202-452-0650
Fax: 202-223-5364

Footer contact links

  • Contact
  • Press Room
  • Subscribe

The Washington Institute seeks to advance a balanced and realistic understanding of American interests in the Middle East and to promote the policies that secure them.

The Institute is a 501(c)3 organization; all donations are tax-deductible.

Footer quick links

  • About TWI
  • Support the Institute

Social media

  • The Washington Institute on Facebook facebook
  • The Washington Institute on Twitter twitter
  • The Washington Institute on YouTube youtube
  • The Washington Institute on Soundcloud soundcloud

© 2023 All rights reserved.

Footer

  • Employment
  • Privacy Policy
  • Rights & Permissions