Current Analysis Refugee Need and Resilience in Zaatari Not surprisingly, a visit to the Zaatari camp for Syrian refugees in northern Jordan is mainly a depressing experience. Yet there are elements of inspiration here as well. Curtis Ryan • 4 min read
Current Analysis A New Diplomatic Rift Between Jordan and Syria On May 26, Syria’s ambassador to Jordan, Bahjat Sulayman, received a terse letter from the Jordanian government informing him that he had been declared persona non grata and had 24 hours to leave the country [http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/news/jordan-expels-syrian-ambassador_23887]. The expulsion of Curtis Ryan • 3 min read
MER Article Prospects for China's Expanding Role in the Middle East In the autumn of 2011, as the international outcry against Bashar al-Asad intensified, it was impossible for the government of China to avoid being drawn into the conflict in Syria. After China joined Russia in October of that year in vetoing a UN Security Council resolution condemning the brutality Kyle Haddad-Fonda • 12 min read
Current Analysis Patrick Seale: A Remembrance “It is as a mirror of rival interests on an international scale that Syria deserves special attention,” a young Anglo-Irish journalist wrote in 1965. “Indeed, her internal affairs are almost meaningless unless related to the wider context, first of her Arab neighbors and then of other interested pow Adam Shatz • 16 min read
Current Analysis Syria's Drought and the Rise of a War Economy The grinding war in Syria brings new horrors with every passing week. The death toll and the number of displaced people continue to soar, as more areas of the country are reduced to rubble. This month, two additional issues with dire long-term consequences have been gaining attention: the possible d Omar S. Dahi • 2 min read
Current Analysis Refugee 101 Crossing the border at Masna‘, al-‘Abboudiyya or Mashari‘ al-Qa‘a, Syrian refugees entering Lebanon face an immediate choice: Stay in the tented settlements in the north and the Bekaa Valley or make their way to coastal cities such as Beirut and Sidon. Their experiences will vary greatly depending o Sarah Parkinson • 8 min read
MER Article The Struggle for Syria's Regions In August 2013, as the United States was preparing to attack Syria over the use of chemical weapons, a chant echoed through ‘Alawi areas of Homs: “Strike, strike, buddy, we want to loot Tel Aviv” (idrab idrab ya habib, bidna n’affish Tall Abib). The couplet draws on a familiar position in Baathist d Kevin Mazur, Kheder Khaddour • 25 min read
MER Article Syrian Drama and the Politics of Dignity Undeterred by pleas for mercy, the high-ranking intelligence officer Ra’uf pushes the junior ‘Azzam to his knees. Ra’uf forcibly shaves the young man’s head as other officers look on. He commands ‘Azzam to remove his shirt and pants, do pushups, jump up and down, and slide across the ground on his e Rebecca Joubin • 14 min read
MER Article From the Editors (Fall 2013) A major victory for the hawks in the post-Vietnam era was to define “intervention” as military action and its opposite as inaction. Thus, in the recurrent debate over what to do about the civil war in Syria, the options are reduced to some sort of US strike, on the one hand, and nothing, on the oth The Editors • 2 min read
Current Analysis Breaking Point One of the many plot lines lost in the summertime discussions of a US strike on Syria is the pace of refugee movement out of the country. As it stands, the refugee crisis is overwhelming and likely to stay that way. Another external military intervention would further accelerate the mass flight and Omar S. Dahi • 8 min read
Current Analysis On the Signs of Intervention in Syria Today Secretary of State John Kerry presented documents in support of his case [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23906913] that the Syrian regime ordered a chemical weapons attack that killed 1,429 Syrians, including 426 children. Days earlier Kerry had promised “consequences” if the US j The Editors • 8 min read
Current Analysis The Syrian Crisis in Jordan An hour and a quarter north of Amman the rural highway rolls through the remote desert hamlet of Zaatari without slowing. The town’s lone intersection is too sleepy to need a stop sign. Matthew Hall • 23 min read
