Though it has fallen out of the headlines because of the Iran war, Syria has had a dramatically consequential summer. Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI Senior Fellow Charles Lister to take stock of recent developments: the dissolution of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Israeli strikes and the friction with Turkey they have exposed, the standoff in Sweida, as well as Damascus’s bid to turn Syria into a trade corridor between the Mediterranean and the Gulf. Is the transition consolidating or fragmenting nearly two years after the fall of the Assad regime?
With sanctions repealed, Syrian policymakers must ensure that growing volumes of credit reach beyond the narrow political and commercial networks that have generally dominated Syrian finance. That will require a credit strategy aimed at sectors and regions historically excluded from formal finance. Syria’s specialized state banks offer an imperfect but ready-made mechanism to do so.
In many ways, the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran and the war in Gaza that preceded it seem transformative. After decades of shadow warfare, Iran and Israel have now attacked each other’s homelands directly. And Israel and the United States have joined forces in a genuinely novel way to wage war against Iran.
MEI’s Syria Initiative seeks to provide insightful and grounded research and analysis on all things Syria in order to better inform a wide range of audiences and to help sustain and shape a more meaningful policy-oriented discussion.
The Middle East Institute, The Atlantic Council, and European Institute of Peace collaborate with subject matter experts and policymakers in the US, Europe, and the Middle East to develop a holistic strategy to sustainably forge a pathway to resolving Syria’s crisis.
Syria Beyond Assad: Building a New Syria from the Grassroots
The Stimson Center and the Middle East Institute are pleased to co-host a panel discussion on grassroots efforts to begin laying the groundwork for a new Syria. As the second anniversary of Syria’s uprising approaches, its deepening turmoil and expanding humanitarian crisis underscore the tragic dimensions of the Arab world’s bloodiest uprising. The Assad regime maintains its hold on power, but has retreated from vast swathes of territory, particularly in northern and eastern areas of the country.
Syria Beyond Assad: Building a New Syria from the Grassroots
The Stimson Center and the Middle East Institute are pleased to co-host a panel discussion on grassroots efforts to begin laying the groundwork for a new Syria. As the second anniversary of Syria’s uprising approaches, its deepening turmoil and expanding humanitarian crisis underscore the tragic dimensions of the Arab world’s bloodiest uprising. The Assad regime maintains its hold on power, but has retreated from vast swathes of territory, particularly in northern and eastern areas of the country.
The Middle East Institute is honored to host the Hon. Filippo Grandi, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, for a discussion about the status and plight of Palestinian refugees. Since its creation in 1949, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been at the forefront providing essential humanitarian and human development services to the now approximately 5 million registered Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza.
The Middle East Institute is honored to host the Hon. Filippo Grandi, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, for a discussion about the status and plight of Palestinian refugees. Since its creation in 1949, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been at the forefront providing essential humanitarian and human development services to the now approximately 5 million registered Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza.
The Middle East Institute is honored to host the Hon. Filippo Grandi, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, for a discussion about the status and plight of Palestinian refugees. Since its creation in 1949, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been at the forefront providing essential humanitarian and human development services to the now approximately 5 million registered Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza.
The Middle East Institute is honored to host the Hon. Filippo Grandi, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, for a discussion about the status and plight of Palestinian refugees. Since its creation in 1949, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been at the forefront providing essential humanitarian and human development services to the now approximately 5 million registered Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza.
The Middle East Institute is honored to host the Hon. Filippo Grandi, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, for a discussion about the status and plight of Palestinian refugees. Since its creation in 1949, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been at the forefront providing essential humanitarian and human development services to the now approximately 5 million registered Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza.
Never before have China’s Middle East policies been less motivated by direct economic interests than by Beijing’s desire to prevent foreign (namely, Western) military intervention and forcing regime change in the region, even for the sake of humanitarian intervention.
The Middle East Institute is proud to present a paper based on a series of discussions with Middle East analysts sponsored by the Hollings Center for International Dialogue held in Istanbul and Washington about the regional implications of the Syria Crisis.
The Syrian Opposition Will Benefit from Integrating Its Civilian-Military Chain of Command
Assertions and opinions in this publication are solely those of the above-mentioned author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Middle East Institute, which expressly does not take positions on Middle East policy
This article was first published by Reuters on December 12, 2012
Assertions and opinions in this publication are solely those of the above-mentioned author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Middle East Institute, which expressly does not take positions on Middle East policy
The Middle East Institute and IRD Present:Syria: Humanitarian Impact and the U.S. Response Featuring: Robert Ford, U.S. Ambassador to SyriaMark Bartolini, Director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, USAIDAlbert Cevallos, Acting Director of Democracy, Governance, & Community Development, IRDOpening Remarks by: Arthur B. Keyes, President and CEO, IRDModerated by: Amb. Deborah Jones Thursday, November 29, 20129:00am-10:30am St.
MEI’s Syria Initiative seeks to provide insightful and grounded research and analysis on all things Syria in order to better inform a wide range of audiences and to help sustain and shape a more meaningful policy-oriented discussion. Drawing on the expertise of over a dozen renowned scholars, the Syria Program covers all aspects of Syria and its ongoing crises – from political, economic, legal, social, ethnic and religious dynamics, to conflict, insurgency and terrorism and the country’s history and possible futures.
