Policy Analysis

Submit site search
  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Rumors and Risks: Lebanon’s Political Anxieties and Relations with the New Syria

    Aug 12, 2025Patricia Karam

    In May 2025, Syria’s transitional President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, confirmed that his government was in indirect communication with Israel, the first time the two s…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Moderation Without Transformation: Why Turkey Is Failing Syria’s Postwar Transition

    Aug 8, 2025Salim Çevik

    After years of investing in Syria’s opposition, Ankara is committed to see the emerging government in Damascus establish a functioning state that can restore b…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Saudi Arabia and the New Syria: Constructive Pragmatism?

    Aug 7, 2025Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

    A large Saudi business delegation traveled to Syria on July 23-25, 2025, and participated in an inaugural Syrian-Saudi Investment Forum at the presidential pal…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    From Sectarianism to Tribalism: Rebuilding Syria’s Power Structures

    Aug 6, 2025Haian Dukhan

    The July 13–18, 2025 violence between Druze and Bedouin in Syria’s southern al-Suwayda governorate was followed by a massive wave of tribal mobilization across…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Refugees Return to Syria: Challenges and Uncertainties

    Aug 1, 2025Heba Gowayed

    Globally the human displacement crisis has reached unprecedented heights, with one in every 67 people forced from their homes. During its 14 long years of civi…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaUS Foreign Policy

    Lifting US Sanctions on Syria: A New Chapter for Damascus and Beirut?

    Jul 18, 2025Patricia Karam

    In a May 13, 2025, speech in Riyadh, President Donald Trump surprised the world by pledging to lift all US sanctions on Syria. Trump’s unexpected announcement …

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Pragmatism Shapes Iraq’s Position Toward Post-Assad Syria

    Jul 1, 2025Giorgio Cafiero

    Sharing a 375-mile border with Syria, Iraq has high stakes in its neighbor’s successful transition following the December 2024 fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Syrian Kurds Attempt to Maneuver Amid New Realities

    Jun 27, 2025Gregory Aftandilian

    Syrian Kurds face new realities that have put their experiment in autonomy in serious doubt. Although in March 2025 they signed an agreement with the new Syria…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    President Trump’s Gulf Trip: Post-Visit Observations

    May 20, 2025Charles W. Dunne Dana El Kurd Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Assal Rad Annelle Sheline

    Last week President Donald Trump ended a three-country trip to the Arabian Gulf—Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates—where he signed lucrative arm…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Saudi Arabia’s Calculated Re-engagement in Syria and Lebanon

    Apr 8, 2025Unit for Political Studies

    On March 28, the Syrian and Lebanese defense ministers signed an agreement in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, affirming the importance of demarcating borders between the…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaDemocracy and Governance

    Challenges Facing Syria’s Constitutional Declaration

    Apr 4, 2025Radwan Ziadeh

    Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime on December 8, 2024, Syria’s new administration announced on January 29, 2025, the appointment of Ahmed al-Shara…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    A New Opportunity for Palestinians in Syria

    Mar 21, 2025Nidal Betare

    In Syria under former President Hafez al-Assad, liberating Palestine at all costs was a regime slogan commensurate to freeing the Golan Heights of Israeli occu…