THE KURDISH CENTRE FOR STUDIES -

In a country like Syria, decentralization and identity are often perceived more as threats than opportunities, and more as sources of division, disruption, weakness, and infiltration than as elements of cohesion, order, strength, and resilience. These perceptions are intrinsic to the emergence of the modern state in Syria and the region following the First World […]

At the beginning of February, the Syrian people felt a glimmer of hope upon hearing that the Syrian transitional government intended to form a Syrian National Dialogue Committee as a fundamental step towards the democratization of Syria in the current context. This national dialogue is meant to serve as a gateway to redefining the state, […]

In his speech at the opening of the National Dialogue Conference in Damascus on February 25, 2025, Syria’s transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa focused on two topics that he views as major obstacles to the consolidation of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) rule and its absorption of the Syrian state. Al-Sharaa asserted that Syria “cannot be divided” […]

The emergence of Hafez al-Assad’s dictatorship in 1970 was based on an international factor, namely the Soviet-American approval to remove a regime that rejected Resolution 242, which defined the contours and course of the Arab-Israeli conflict after the 1967 war. Additionally, there was a regional factor involving the new Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat, who proposed […]

The Sykes-Picot maps (1915-1916), created for the division of the Ottoman Empire, underwent a lengthy process of modifications, such that they no longer resembled their original forms. Among these changes, the “Upper Jazira” area became a focal point for boundary delimitation processes that persisted for nearly a decade following the entry of French forces into […]

A senior European official informed a Syrian opposition group that the reason former U.S. President Barack Obama refrained from launching a major military strike against the Syrian regime following the chemical attack on Eastern Ghouta in August 2013 was due to Tehran’s threat to withdraw from negotiations over its nuclear program. In the summer of […]

The recent decisive strikes by Israel, supported by the United States, against Iran and its proxies in the Middle East have significantly weakened Tehran’s regional influence, particularly as these strikes targeted many of Iran’s air defense capabilities, resulting in a state of strategic vulnerability for Iran. However, this weakening appears separate from Iran’s efforts to […]

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 […]

The Middle East is undergoing unprecedented political transformations, as the foundations of the traditional nation-state erode amidst a frantic struggle between competing governance models seeking to impose their future visions. With each new crisis, it becomes clear that the regional order established since the Sykes-Picot Agreement faces existential challenges that undermine its ability to survive. […]