Syria
Laughing to the Limit
A group of Syrian comedians is making use of the country’s new freedoms to entertain audiences, while holding a mirror up to society at a moment of rapid change.
Ghouta’s Chemical Scars
More than a decade after the Ghouta chemical attacks by the Assad regime, the thirst for justice has not yet been sated.
House and Home in Syria and in Exile — with Ammar Azzouz, Wendy Pearlman and Lydia Wilson
Ammar Azzouz, author of “Domicide: Architecture, War and the Destruction of Home in Syria,” and Wendy Pearlman, author of “The Home I Worked To Make: Voices From the New Syrian Diaspora,” join New Lines’ Lydia Wilson on The Lede to discuss how conflict and exile have shaped Syrians’ idea of home, and how that might change in an uncertain future.
How Assad’s Trade in Captagon Fueled His Downfall
The Assad regime’s manipulation of the Captagon trade, combining industrial-scale production with carefully crafted counternarcotics rhetoric, staged seizures and inflated statistics, gave the illusion of a crackdown. But the regime’s reliance on Captagon to reinforce its hold on power prompted a backlash from neighboring states and hastened its collapse.
The University That Shaped Russia’s Intervention in Syria
For decades, an elite university in St. Petersburg sustained Russia’s expertise on the Middle East and its influence abroad. Yet cracks in Russia’s supposed mastery of the region started to show around the turn of the millennium.
Iraq Offers Lessons and Warnings for a New Syria
The sudden collapse of the Assad regime marks a momentous opportunity for Syrians to build an inclusive, stable democracy — but it also poses immense challenges, from rebuilding a war-torn society to preventing the rise of a new autocrat. Postwar Iraq offers lessons and cautionary tales for the nascent state.
Tallying Syria’s War Dead
Determining the true scale of lives lost in Syria’s 14-year conflict is essential for accountability and transitional justice. By merging datasets, documenting on the ground and honoring each victim, Syrians and global experts can forge a path toward a new Syria — one built on truth and redress.