
For Russia, the Syrian conflict is clearly a burden, but it is also a source of influence, through which the Kremlin has sought to develop its regional alliances, especially with Iran.

Markets largely dictate how the relationship between oil companies and host states will play out, with governments attempting to ensure they receive a ‘fair share’ of petroleum revenues.

One hundred years after the division of the Middle East, the effects of the Sykes-Picot agreement are still playing out across the region.

Russia, Iran and Hezbullah must seek a genuine accommodation with the Syrian opposition and a meaningful political transition, otherwise they will have to maintain and police a sullen, nonviable post-war peace.

In Ain al-Hilweh, Islamist militants are working alongside the PLO and pro-Syrian factions to prevent allies of the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra from dragging the camp into war.

While Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system is flawed and unraveling in many ways, it has helped keep the country at peace and provides valuable lessons for the region.

More coordination between international donors, the public sector, and civil society actors could fill gaps in education for Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

In its foreign policy toward North Africa and the Middle East, the EU is putting stability before human rights, as it did before the Arab Spring.

Saudi Arabia’s recent moves against Hezbollah and the Lebanese government could end up weakening its own allies and further destabilizing the Lebanese political arena.

The EU should refrain from acting in Lebanon like a humanitarian NGOs and should behave instead like a serious power with effective sticks and carrots.