Insights

The repeal of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act was not an isolated decision, nor does it signal a definitive shift in US policy toward Syria. Rather, it reflects a phase of policy recalibration, reshaping tools of engagement with a...

Amid escalating Israeli rhetoric about new security arrangements along Lebanon’s southern border, political, military, and legal tracks are converging on a single question: the future of the area south of the Litani River. The debate centres on whether Lebanon is...

Syrians broadly agree that years of sanctions have left behind a heavy economic legacy. The US Caesar Act effectively isolated Syria from the global financial system, forcing the economy into what many analysts describe as a form of “unhealthy adaptation.”...

Recent statements by US President Donald Trump regarding the Golan Heights have revived a long-standing dispute over sovereignty, underscoring a clear contradiction between Washington’s political framing of the issue and established international legal principles. While Trump presents recognition of Israeli...

Amid growing warnings in recent weeks about a resurgence of ISIS activity in Syria, and following announcements by Syria’s interim Interior Ministry forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) about the arrest of ISIS cells across multiple regions, Operation “Hawkeye...

The inclusion of the repeal of the US sanctions law known as the Caesar Act within the annual defence authorization legislation is increasingly viewed as a signal of a shift in Washington’s approach to Syria. Rather than treating Syria solely...

In the Syrian city of Hama, long regarded as a centre of education and cultural life, a recent decision to rename a number of schools has triggered widespread debate among educators, intellectuals, and local residents. The move, which comes as...

Last Wednesday, the US Senate voted on the new fiscal year US defense budget, which included a provision related to repealing the “Caesar Act” imposed on Syria. The measure passed with the approval of 77 members and the opposition of...

In December 2019, the US Congress passed the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act as one of the most stringent economic and political pressure tools imposed on the government of Bashar al-Assad. The law aimed to hold perpetrators of human rights...

In recent weeks, Yemen has witnessed a renewed surge in military and political tensions, signaling a fresh rupture in a country already scarred by years of war and fragmentation. The escalation, unfolding simultaneously on the battlefield and within political institutions,...