Articles
Browse by topic:
Select topic
- 9/11
- Abu Ghraib
- Arab
- Arab League
- Arab Spring
- Arab World
- Arab worl
- Ariel Sharon
- Assad
- Barack Obama
- Bashar al-Assad
- Blockade
- Branding
- Carter
- Chatham House
- Children
- Communications
- Consumerism
- Culture
- EU
- Economy
- Education
- Egypt
- Europe
- European Union
- Foreign Policy
- France
- Free Speech
- Gaza
- Geneva
- Geneva II
- George Bush
- Golan
- ICG
- Iran
- Iraq
- Islam
- Israel
- Justice
- Lebanon
- Liban
- Libya
- Marketing
- Media
- Middle East
- Migration
- Mubarak
- Muslims
- Obama
- Opposition
Browse by date:
Select month
- November 2021
- April 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- September 2018
- February 2018
- May 2017
- April 2017
- October 2016
- January 2014
- December 2013
- October 2013
- December 2012
- September 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- August 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- September 2010
- June 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- January 2009
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- July 2007
- May 2007
- February 2007
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- July 2006
- March 2006
- November 2005
- August 2005
- June 2005
- March 2005
- November 2004
- June 2004
- November 2003
- January 2003
- July 2002
- June 2002
- April 2002
- March 2002
Articles by date
Syria and Turkey: A burgeoning courtship
Arab nationalism and Alexandretta notwithstanding, a Turkish-Syrian affair is currently in full bloom, joining the proverbial hearts and minds across the border, letting bygones be bygones and picking up from where things were last left.
Syria on their minds: the re-positioning battle
Syria’s multifaceted identity has been lost in a sea of tired slogans and needs redefining: cradle of civilisation, land of diversity, conversion on the road to Damascus, oldest capital in the world …
From ‘land for peace’ to ‘an eye for an eye’
No sooner had Israel begun its most vicious onslaught yet before commentaries began to explain the massacre and put things into context.
Syria's Sociable Spectators and Solitary Surfers
With countless rusty dishes turned to the sky in a single direction, as if supplicating in unison the gods of free entertainment and information to beam non-stop broadcasts, there is little doubt that pan-Arab television has become the true opium of the masses …
Social Metamorphosis in the Cradle of Civilization
Damascus' new taste for luxury has created a growing gap between the rich – who ostentatiously display their wealth – and the poor who are growing increasingly alienated.
Education and the pursuit of justice
The region stands at the edge of an existential precipice. It has a huge young population running out of options for education, employment or economic security …
Spinning the Golan
Israel has long enlisted a small army of public relations specialists to create its own version of history and enlist public opinion. It’s time for Syria to do the same.
La Syrie, otage et geôlière du Liban
C’est dans cet autre ancien protectorat français, au Liban, que les relations franco-syriennes atteignent leur plus bas niveau. Depuis la mort de Hafez al Assad, et l’installation d’un nouveau proconsul syrien …
Success measured by attendance
Despite their proven futility, Arab League summits have always managed to create a modicum of expectation over the last couple of decades, with several big events shaking the Arab world to its core.
The reawakening of Syria - Chatham House briefing paper
The Baathist regime has weathered external pressure from the West, the seeds of civil unrest at home and the loss of its historical position of power in Lebanon. Today the future looks far brighter for Syria …
Basking in the limelight
What the Syrian regime wants is much more simple: it wants to be acknowledged as a force in the region, and as an interested party whose cooperation must be sought.
America’s veto on Syrian-Israeli talks is counter-productive
Syria is being accused of wanting to negotiate for negotiations' sake, but Israel and the US themselves are only talking peace to achieve other goals.
The pariah who came in from the cold
As long as politicians' positions are stated purely in relation to Syria (as "pro-Syrian" or "anti-Syrian"), the Lebanese themselves are inflating Syria's influence instead of shaking it off.
Patching things up with the neighbours
Tony Blair's sudden drive to reconcile the US with Syria and Iran is not as spontaneous as he would like us to believe.
Walking on eggshells
The International Crisis Group's statement on the Middle East tiptoes around the big issues, but they have to be faced sooner or later
Damascus should beware delusions of grandeur
The Syrian regime currently seems intoxicated with power and confidence, reveling in its recovered status as an incontrovertible accomplice to any regional arrangement.
As Lebanon burns, Syria finds supporters again
In Syria, the peculiar sight of a brand-new trinity consisting of Nasrallah and Sadr flanking Bashar Assad is being paraded.
Real fears or crocodile tears?
It is only a matter of time before Iran becomes the only real influence over what promises to be a large area of joint hegemony; Damascus only needs to wait for the fruits of its rapport with Tehran to flourish …
Syria must choose pragmatism over isolation
Relations have entered another dimension which actually defines Syria's standing on the international scale, where Syria's cooperation--or lack thereof--on all things Lebanese will now delineate its position with the big powers.
Syrian-Lebanese relations are not a zero-sum game
The more Syria feels pressured, the more it chokes Lebanon; the more it fuels resentment in a new Lebanese generation, the more it hurts itself in the process.