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Recent major changes and developments in the Middle East, particularly the collapse of the Syrian regime and its military and security apparatus, along with the Iranian withdrawal from Syria, have revitalized the hopes of ISIS. This situation has resulted in the disappearance of the military presence and structures of Iranian militias and local militias managed […]

The Middle East is teetering between simultaneous threats and opportunities that were not present when Donald Trump first took office eight years ago. From an American perspective, the most serious threats include Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and its active engagement in an alliance with China and Russia. The best opportunities have arisen from Israel’s […]

This year marks the 26th anniversary of the capture of Abdullah Öcalan, the founder of the PKK, in Kenya. Since February 15, 1999, the Kurdish leader has been detained in the maximum-security prison island of İmralı. Twenty-six years later, Öcalan continues to play an important role in solving the Kurdish issue, as evidenced by the […]

On 22 January 2025, the Iraqi parliament passed a law known as the “General Amnesty Law,” which grants amnesty to detainees convicted or accused of various crimes, including fighting alongside armed groups and participating in operations and attacks targeting Iraqi forces, civilians, and U.S. forces. The amnesty law encompasses thousands of prisoners who were arrested […]

The new U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has outlined the broad contours of U.S. diplomacy under Donald Trump in a statement published on the U.S. State Department website. What stands out about this brief statement is that anyone familiar with its content might think it pertains to the Department of the Interior or another […]

Saudi Arabia is taking the lead among Arab states in engaging with the transitional government in Damascus, an effort perceived as aimed at securing an early foothold in the Syrian capital and preventing Qatar and Turkey from dominating the landscape. In this context, The Wall Street Journal reports on the competition for influence in Syria, […]

By The Kurdish Center for Studies

The Turkish government is racing against time to capitalize on the change that occurred in Syria on December 8, 2024, marked by the fall of the Syrian regime and the rise of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions to power in Damascus. With the diminishing influence of Iran and Russia, and the evident divisions […]

In parallel with the large-scale offensive launched by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham on November 27, which concluded on December 8 with its forces entering the capital Damascus without significant resistance, leading to the collapse of the regime and the flight of former President Bashar al-Assad, pro-Turkish factions under the National Army initiated a military campaign dubbed […]

Over the years, Iran has invested considerable blood and money to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and help him survive a civil war that threatened his rule. Iran has operated military bases, arms depots, and missile factories in Syria, using it as a conduit to arm its allies across the region, according to a report […]

There are many speculations outside the realms of politics and strategy regarding the recent offensive by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Syria and the sudden collapse of the regime’s defenses and those of its allies. The naive perspective suggests that Moscow has grown weary of the regime and is punishing it until the crisis is resolved; […]

On November 27, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and other allied jihadist factions launched a large-scale military operation named “Deterring Aggression.” During this operation, they managed to capture the city of Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, along with dozens of towns and villages in the Aleppo and Idlib governorates. They seized large quantities of weapons and equipment from […]

Disagreements among the three parties forming Germany’s “traffic light” coalition government led to its collapse. Chancellor Olaf Scholz officially announced that he would request a vote of confidence from parliament on December 16 to authorize the current interim government to run the country until the early parliamentary elections scheduled for February 23, 2025. The “traffic […]

In his first term, Donald Trump coined the slogan “America First” and “Make America Great Again.” This slogan maintained its appeal during the election campaign that ultimately culminated in Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris. During Trump’s first term (2016-2020), this slogan was linked to radical implementations, resulting in significant upheaval within the largest institution in […]

The killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on 16 October has opened the door to intensifying diplomatic efforts to end the ongoing tragedy in Gaza through a political settlement that guarantees security for both Palestinians and Israelis while restoring calm to northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to face […]

Right-wing parties have gained significant presence in several European countries and have now seats in state assemblies, national parliaments, and the European Parliament, where they have united into a single parliamentary bloc. These right-wing parties share similar rhetoric and themes that are central to their election campaigns, leading to their prominent position in many influential […]

Years ago, Turkish officials made statements regarding the management of the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. In 2015, Turkey’s aggression towards Arab regimes, primarily through Muslim Brotherhood militias and Salafi-jihadist organizations, peaked, deepening the rift between Turkey and Egypt following the ousting of the late President Mohamed Morsi and the end of the Muslim Brotherhood’s […]

Eastern Germany, formerly known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR) before German reunification in 1990, comprises five states. In the post-unification political lexicon of Germany, these states are referred to as the “new states”: Brandenburg (2.5 million inhabitants), Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (1.6 million inhabitants), Saxony (4 million inhabitants), Saxony-Anhalt (2.2 million inhabitants), and Thuringia (2.1 million inhabitants). […]

What a re-elected President Donald Trump will do if he wins is well known. But what if Kamala Harris wins? It is easy to assume that Harris will continue the foreign policy of the Joe Biden administration, and this is not an incorrect assumption. Preventing Russia from winning the war in Ukraine will remain a […]

Several days after Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination in Tehran, speculation arose regarding the nature and timing of Iran’s expected retaliation against Israel. Among the anticipated responses was the targeting of US bases and assets in Iraq and Syria, which was realized through a missile attack carried out by Iranian militias near the Conoco gas field, where […]

Today marks a somber milestone: the tenth anniversary of the Yezidi Genocide. It remains a dark chapter in human history, that unfolded on August 3, 2014, when ISIS launched a merciless assault on the peaceful Yezidi Kurds of Şengal, Southern Kurdistan (Sinjar, Iraq). On this solemn occasion, we at the Kurdish Center for Studies come […]

One cannot separate sports from politics. Though we like to believe football games are neutral apolitical spectacles, they are intertwined within a larger socio-political context that is inescapable (as all Kurdish fans of Amedspor are well aware). This past week, that notion was on full display, igniting a wider debate about the line between where […]

The defiant city of Şirnex (Şırnak) in occupied Northern Kurdistan (southeast Turkey) has always been a thorn in the side of the Turkish Republic and their desire to assimilate the Kurdish people. Figuratively, if Dersim (Tunceli) is the ‘brain’, and Amed (Diyarbakır) is the ‘body’, then Şirnex would be the ‘heart’ of Bakur. Taking its […]

On April 24, 2024, the University of Rojava (founded in 2016) held its fourth Freedom Annual Lecture Series. The lecture, featuring the distinguished Kurdish historian Professor Hamit Bozarslan, Director of the School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences (EHESS) in Paris, France, was entitled: “Reflections on Anti-Democracy and War in the 21st Century.” With regards […]

On December 27th, 2023, The Kurdish Center for Studies (KCS) organized a discussion about the continued attacks of the Turkish state against Rojava. The program was conducted by KCS official Nawaf Khalil, and featured the co-chairman of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) Salih Muslim, who evaluated the repeated Turkish assaults on civilian infrastructure and the reason […]

On November 20, 2023, The Kurdish Center for Studies (KCS) held a special panel on the impact of the Turkish bombardments around six weeks after they began. The panel was titled: ‘Rojava Under Siege: Analysis from the War Crime Scene’ and moderated by Co-Directors Dr. Hawzhin Azeez and Dr. Thoreau Redcrow. Both have spent extended […]

This interview was originally conducted in Kurdish on October 23rd, 2023 and can be found here (including the original video). “It is possible that the Turkish state will continue these attacks and attempt to displace the local population. We have seen historical examples of this, even in recent history, such as the forced displacement of people […]

“These Turkish air strikes against us are war crimes according to all international laws and regulations. There is no pretext that allows for the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure. But it seems like the Turkish regime does not care and is not abiding by these legal rules. And they have announced publicly that they will […]

The following is an exclusive interview with professor Thomas Schmidinger following his presentation during a two day international conference on the centenary of the Lausanne Treaty held in Hasaka, Rojava (Northeastern Syria). The international conference was organized by The Rojava Center for Strategic Studies and held on the 7th-8th of July. Professor Schmidinger is a Political Scientist […]

“We can no longer keep these prisoners without an indictment or trial. These people must be held accountable for their crimes. They remain a danger not only to the region, but to the entire world. These are thousands of the most brutal ISIS fighters. We cannot keep them anymore. It is creating a security problem […]