Viewpoints

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SyriaDemocracy and Governance
The “New Syria” and Reconstruction under Regional Influences
Oct 2, 2025Isabel Ruck
On September 24, 2025, interim Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa addressed the 80th United Nations General Assembly—the first time a Syrian president has done s…
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SyriaPublic Opinion
Reading the Syrian Public Opinion Survey 2025: Indicators of Optimism
Sep 19, 2025Daniel Neep
The Arab Opinion Index: Syrian Public Opinion Survey 2025 provides an unusually granular view of political attitudes in a country long considered impervious to…
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Palestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance
The Significance of Hussein al-Sheikh’s Appointment as PLO Vice President
Jun 17, 2025Rami G. Khouri
When Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appointed Hussein al-Sheikh as vice president of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), he sent many signals to …
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SyriaDemocracy and Governance
Timeline of the Recent Sectarian Strife on Syria’s Coast
Mar 19, 2025Radwan Ziadeh
On March 6, loyalists to Syria’s former President Bashar al-Assad attacked the new government’s troops in the coastal areas of Syria where Assad’s Alawite sect…
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SyriaDemocracy and Governance
A Blind Spot in Post-Assad Syria: The Fate of State Archival Records
Jan 21, 2025Marwa Daoudy Noureddine Jebnoun
The fall of the Assad regime has highlighted a crucial but often overlooked issue: the fate of Syria’s state archives. Former officials have left behind millio…
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LebanonDemocracy and Governance
The Emergence of Lebanon’s Third Republic
Jan 16, 2025Imad K. Harb
The election on January 9, 2025, of the Lebanese Army Commander Joseph Aoun as the fourteenth president of Lebanon can very well be the inauguration of the Leb…
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SyriaDemocracy and Governance
Will Assad’s Fall Give Iran’s Reformists a New Lease on Life?
Dec 11, 2024Daniel Brumberg
For Iran, the fall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and what was left of his regime—together with Moscow’s decision to throw its leading Middle East ally to the wind…
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SyriaDemocracy and Governance
A New Syria is Born: Hopes and Challenges
Dec 11, 2024Marwa Daoudy
December 8, 2024, marked a historic turning point in Syria and the Middle East region—a day when the Syrian people achieved what had seemed unattainable: the t…