Pictures coming from Syria in July illustrate that, despite the relative peace and the fragile ceasefire, the situation is opaque and can inflame frontlines anytime. By Ola Rifai On July 8, Syrian President Bashar…
On July 4-6 the Institute of the Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies (MECACS) at the University of St Andrews hosted the 2022 annual British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) conference…
by Ola Rifai Earlier this month, the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan unveiled a plan to send one million Syrian refugees back to Northern Syria as a part of a ‘voluntary’ return project for Syrians to ‘Safe…
Ola Rifai Nov 2, 2019 The Syrian conflict presents an excellent case study for students of international relations theories, in particular to those interested in realpolitik and the power of alliances. According to…
Ola Rifai May 7, 2019 Violence in the last couple of months has, relatively speaking, been halted in Syria. However, alas, this does not denote a closer end to the conflict. On the contrary, two developments occurred…
Ola Rifai Mar 15, 2019 On Sunday March 10th, the regime forces reinstated a new bronze statue of late president Hafez Asad in Daraa city, replacing an old one that was taken down by anti- Asad protesters in April 2011.…
Jasmine Gani Dec 21, 2018 After the sudden announcement of US withdrawal from Syria, followed by confusion in Washington and the resignation of Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis, the attention shifts to the long-term…
Omar Imady Oct 2, 2018 Vladimir Putin and his new good friend Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – the two powerful men in the Syrian drama – smiled triumphantly as they shookhands in Sochi. They did it! They signed a surprise deal…
Omar Imady Aug 15, 2018 The ‘Syrian people are one’, ‘we are all Daraa’, and ‘Oh Daraa we shall support you to death’. These are some of the slogans that were chanted by anti-regime protesters in the southern city of…
Problems of Brokering an Agreement in Syria I William Zartman, The Johns Hopkins University (SAIS) Keynote Speech given to St Andrews Centre for Syrian Studies July 2015 Conference “Moving Beyond the Stalemate” The…