To commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Arab uprisings, the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom are organizing a conference to examine the past decade and in particular the mistakes that were made along the way.

Syrian presidential elections are scheduled for 2021. President Bashar al-Assad and his close confidants have said that they will go ahead with the elections without a new constitution and irrespective of whether they meet the standards of the political process outlined in Security Council Resolution 2254.

The Assad regime’s instinct to survive at any cost closed off opportunities for change in Syria, yet contentious politics was possible and is still taking place.

During the past few weeks, Syria has witnessed major political and military developments. The political process has seen the creation of a long-awaited constitutional committee, following an Iranian-Turkish-Russian summit.

An exploration of the nuances and potential of power-sharing in post-conflict countries in the region and a discussion of the relevant lessons learned from other countries as well.

The fragile Syrian peace talks in Geneva are slowly moving forward.