Syria / Iraq / Lebanon

Iraqi Elections and Maliki’s Gamble

Fears stemming from the radicalization of Iraq’s Sunni population—and Iraqis’ disillusionment with politics—could propel Maliki into an unpopular third term. 

The 1,001 lives of al-Qaeda in Iraq

The violence of recent events that have struck Iraq over the course of recent weeks poses questions not only about Iraq’s continuing transition but also about al-Qaeda’s ascendancy in the country

Making the most of Geneva II

The Geneva II conference on Syria will finally convene in Switzerland next week. Prospects for an immediate or dramatic breakthrough are decidedly bleak, yet that should not be the bar against which the merits of convening Geneva II should be measured.

Syria’s uprising within an uprising

The Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS), a transnational ultraconservative Islamist group has been a thorn in the Syrian revolution since its inception in April 2013. The group is at the centre of a new round of infighting in rebel-held Syria.

Don’t pretend the U.N. can save Syria

It is time to set Lakhdar Brahimi free. After a year's service as envoy for the United Nations and Arab League to Syria, the veteran Algerian mediator faces the final breakdown of his efforts to end the war.

Syria and the politicisation of British foreign policy

With the parliamentary rejection of a major foreign policy initiative, Britain has crossed a watershed in foreign policy making, but the question is not about whether the UK engages with the world. It is about how its foreign policy is made.

Eight things to consider before intervening in Syria

Before any Western intervention in the Syrian conflict, eight key issues need to be considered – from the goals of intervention and the legal issue to the regional impact and the possibility of a diplomatic alternative

The regional struggle for Syria

Two years after the beginning of an uprising against President Bashar-al-Assad, Syria is gripped by an ever deepening civil war that is having a significant impact on the entire region.  

Syria: the Kurdish view

This essay forms part of an eight-part ECFR series exploring the regional responses, dynamics and ramifications of the Syrian uprising and civil war. These…

Syria: the view from Israel

Israel’s strategic approach to Syria can be described as wary, pragmatic and broken down into specific micro areas of threats and interests rather than comprising a comprehensive picture of what kind of Syria it would like to see, and what it could do to facilitate this outcome.