Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The promise of Western military support and a shared opposition to Russia’s intervention are driving Syrian opposition forces to unite and—for many of them—move away from extremist rhetoric.
Russia’s involvement in Syria is less about protecting natural gas interests and more about prosaic strategic interests.
Amid the violence of the fight for Aleppo, local residents have come up with makeshift methods of survival and resistance.
By destroying rebel groups’ attempts at local governance, Russian military assistance is helping Assad present his government as the only viable force to rule Syria.
Russia hopes its recent military support to Bashar al-Assad will give it political leverage over the Syrian regime and counter Western military might both in Syria and globally.
Assad may be relinquishing authority over certain parts of Syria he is unable to hold or recapture, but the war is sure to drag on for some time.
Although political considerations are the main drivers of Iran’s policy toward Syria, economic interests are playing an ever greater role.
After several setbacks outside of Damascus, Assad’s regime has turned to fighting terrorists operating near or inside Yarmouk refugee camp, while its residents are trapped between the two assaults.
The international community has heavily invested in the armed forces of Syria’s neighbors, but hard security cannot be achieved without more robust humanitarian aid.
As the Syrian war approaches its fourth year, the Assad regime may finally be losing a critical tool in its arsenal—bread subsidies.
New rules restricting the entry of Syrians into Lebanon are only a stopgap measure in the government’s effort to curb and ultimately control the refugee population.
The inability of the Lebanese state to figure out where Arsal stands has made public and state perceptions increasingly hostile toward the town.
Realpolitik, rather than ethics, provides the most powerful arguments against the growing calls to forge a deal with the Syrian regime.
Although Kobani has spurred a KRG-PYD strategic rapprochement, Kurdish unity across borders remains elusive.
Regardless of whether Kurds can successfully defend Kobani, the PKK stands to gain support for its nationalist claims in Turkey.
Airstrikes against ISIS will provide the Syrian opposition an opportunity to work alongside countries that long doubted its ability to rule a post-Assad Syria.
Although the Islamic State gained access to significant resources in Syria and Iraq, budgetary constraints will hinder the group’s expansionist aims.
Fears of a potential shift in Lebanon’s confessional balance are driving power brokers to enact harsher restrictions on incoming Syrian refugees.
The Islamic State is trying to consolidate its presence in Syria and gain territory using new strategies during its latest push.
The return of Shia fighters to Iraq has left Hezbollah overstretched in Syria and vulnerable at home.