Bashar al-Assad

Syria, as a geographical-political entity that emerged within a political framework lasting four months in 1920, was the most prolific in generating political ideas from which political currents and parties in the region extending from Morocco to Iraq emerged. These ranged from Pan-Arab thought with its founders: Sati’ al-Husri, Michel Aflaq, and Kstantine Zureiq, to […]

The fall of the dictatorship of the Syrian President, Bashar Assad, late in December 2024 has opened the door wide for speculation about what the future holds for the religiously diverse and ethnically mixed country. Strangely, two days after Assad had fled, Germany’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Annalena Baerbock, called for the protection of minorities […]

The election in November 2024 of Donald Trump for a second presidential term in the White House was received with anxiety by people in the autonomous Kurdish enclave of Rojava. A month later, the secularist Arab nationalist regime of the Syrian President, Bashar Assad, fell to Islamist- leaning extremist groups. This transformative shift- which could […]

The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime contributed to strengthening Turkish aspirations within Syria. Whether the military presence is based on the principle of “de facto” or direct occupation under the pretext of protecting national security, the ability of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham to seize control of most Syrian cities previously held by the deposed regime prompted […]

Syria today suffers from numerous afflictions, foremost among them the extreme poverty affecting the majority of Syrians, the collapse of basic services, lawlessness among militias, and their practices that amount to genocide. There are also violations of Syrian territory by neighboring countries, especially Israel, as well as conflicts arising from the post-Assad regime and the […]

There is no doubt that the color green has infiltrated the Syrian landscape following the fall of the Assad regime, emerging as a dominant symbol. Social media has been filled with trending slogans such as “green is expanding,” referring to the need for opposition factions and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) to control Syrian territory. The […]

Massacre is defined here as “the intentional killing of a number of unarmed civilians, or the killing of a number of regular military/security forces, or militias, when they are not in a combat situation.” Massacres will be categorized according to the perpetrator(s). Massacres committed by the authority during the regimes of Hafez and Bashar al-Assad […]

In a television interview, Rami Abdel Rahman, the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), revealed a shocking comment from the de facto authority in Damascus: “Let them unleash their feelings,” which served as a chilling justification for the “sectarian cleansing” massacres, framed as a means to release accumulated resentments. The escalating bloodshed, […]

It is challenging for the recent supporters of Ahmed al-Sharaa – those who were not part of his group or supporters before 8 December – to justify the issuance of the constitutional declaration, which entrenches and details the features of autocratic and fascistic rule. Proponents and drafters of the declaration may argue for its acceptance […]

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 […]

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 […]

There is arguably no parallel in the world to the Syrian Air Force pilot who targeted the civilian population of his own country with barrel bombs. This case is further complicated by the fact that these indiscriminate weapons, along with regular aerial bombardments, were heavily used in the eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo during the period […]

The discourse surrounding the future of Syria is revealing voices calling for war in the northeastern part of the country. Beyond the frenzy and hatred that characterize these voices, it is fair to say that they lack any understanding of the dangers associated with the idea of war, which does not serve the interests of […]

Most Syrians were surprised by the geopolitical significance of their country when the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime led to the demise of Iran’s regional axis, a fate not shared by Tehran’s forces in Gaza and Lebanon. Additionally, this collapse restored Russia’s status as a regional power after it gained global power status following its […]

When Riad al-Turk emerged from detention in September 2001 to November 2002, he recalled a statement made to him by Major General Adnan Badr Hassan, head of the Political Security Division, during his interrogation: “We are the ones who brought this boy, and we are the ones who rule behind him.” The author then reminded […]

It is difficult to dismiss Benjamin Netanyahu when he takes the podium and boasts that Israel is reshaping the Middle East to its liking. It is equally unfair not to consider that the crises in this region are now under U.S. management, without partners from competing international powers—some providing political influence in crisis management, such […]

In the spring of 2015, Jaish al-Fatah, a military coalition between Jabhat al-Nusra and Harakat Ahrar al-Sham, took control of the entire Idlib province. In the summer of that year, they advanced south into the Al-Ghab Plain following the rapid retreat of the Syrian regime’s forces. Subsequent information confirmed that the objective of capturing Homs […]

After the Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia, the Syrian people are experiencing an atmosphere of liberation from the regime that Hafez al-Assad established in 1970 and that his son continued. The military manifestations of the regime have faded, the security apparatus has disappeared, and prisons and detention centers have opened their doors, resulting in the […]

The Assad regime effectively collapsed 12 days after the start of “Deterrence of Aggression Operation,” after a bloody rule lasting nearly 14 years. Ultimately, the regime came to an official end when its leader fled without engaging in one last ‘honorable’ battle. However, the remnants of the regime—beyond the brutal prison scenes and family photo […]

Russia could not save former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad when opposition forces advanced towards the capital, Damascus. Ultimately, Moscow lost its most significant strategic investment outside the borders of the former Soviet Union, marking the furthest extent of Russia’s reach in the Mediterranean throughout its imperial history since Peter the Great ascended to the throne […]

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 […]

The map of the armed conflict remains liquid as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham advances beyond the borders of Aleppo to the outskirts of Hama province. While Syrian regime forces struggle to repel the advancing troops following an unprecedented series of withdrawals, leaving behind heavy weapons and hundreds of thousands of residents, pro-Turkish National Army factions have […]