Politics

On the 11th day of the Israeli-U.S. war against Iran, strikes across the region remain unabated, hostilities have expanded to Azerbaijan and Turkey, Israeli attacks on Lebanon have intensified, and Iraq seems to be dangerously veering towards further instability. Iran has chosen as the supreme leader the son of the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba Khamenei, a hardline figure. U.S. President Donald Trump has sent mixed signals; on March 6 he said that there would be no deal with Iran except “unconditional surrender,” but on Tuesday he told CBS that the war “is very complete.” Washington has also suggested that the U.S. will  back Iranian Kurdish militias to overthrow the Iranian regime. As the region is dragged into a geopolitical upheaval, the prospects for an end to hostilities seem to fade, complicating Syria’s delicate balancing act of remaining on the sidelines - especially if hostilities continue to engulf Lebanon, further drag Turkey and Iraq into the conflict, and strain Gulf economic support for Damascus. 

In post-Assad Syria, the emerging governance model is veering towards a system highly centralised around the presidency, where the intermediary layer in the administrative structure is being removed. This trend can be traced back to the formation of the transitional government in March 2025, where the Prime Minister was abolished. While the President has refrained from direct involvement in the daily operational details of government work, he has delegated these powers to the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic and the so-called “security sheikhs.” 

Over a month after the Kurdish-led administration that governed large swathes of the northeast imploded, the integration of civilian structures from the now-dissolved Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (AANES) into the central state apparatus remains underway. Damascus has kick-started the process of integrating the civil administration with a focus on the health, education, agriculture, and aviation sectors. Preparations are also underway to complete the electoral process for the parliamentary elections in Hassakeh, Raqqa, and the Kobani region.

In the areas that fell under the control of Damascus in recent days - the eastern flank of the governorates of Raqqa and Deir-ez-Zor, and the southern countryside of Hassakeh - state officials have accelerated the handover in the civilian, judicial, industrial, energy, health and financial sectors.

In the span of two weeks, the geopolitical and military landscape in Syria has been upended, with Damascus taking the entirety of the Raqqa and Deir-ez-Zor governorates and advancing in the southern Hassakeh countryside, de facto putting an end to the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (AANES).

In the last week, active fighting between the Syrian army and Kurdish-led Interior Security Forces (Asayish) in two Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods in Aleppo has deepened the divide between Damascus and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), further derailing the already stalled negotiations to implement the March 10 agreement. This violent turn lays bare the inability of Damascus and Kurdish-led forces over the last ten months to find a middle ground between the centralisation approach of Damascus and decentralisation demands by the SDF.

Mohammad Hamsho, a prominent businessman long associated with the inner circle of the Assad regime, has settled his status with the Transitional Government through an agreement which. reportedly involves the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars in assets and cash. This landmark  settlement is the first major test of the new authorities’ strategy to balance economic stability with the public’s mounting demands for accountability and transitional justice.

The massive demonstrations in Damascus and across most of the country on 8 December have left no doubt that, despite the socio-economic difficulties Syrians face in their daily lives and the numerous security incidents, many still view the future with hope. However, this does not apply to important parts of the country, mainly the northeast and Suweida province.

The Riyadh Cables Group (RCG) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Syrian Sovereign Fund (SSF), becoming the first public MoU signed by the Sovereign Fund. According to the memorandum, the Saudi company will manage and develop  the Syrian Modern Cables (SMC). The silence of Syrian state institutions about this MoU, combined with the ambiguity surrounding the ownership and legal status of SMC, have raised questions about the memorandum’s legitimacy and the broader role of the SSF, a body tasked with managing state-owned assets, which remains largely opaque five months after its creation.

Thaer Lahham, the managing director of the Syrian Business Council, delves into the major challenges that the private sector faces, explains his take on the economic policies of the authorities, and outlines the goals of the Syrian Business Council (SBC). The SBC is a business organisation grouping many of Syria’s leading business figures and established before the Syrian uprising and which is now seeing a revival. 

The negotiations between Syria’s transitional government and the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (AANES) have reached a deadlock. This article explores how the northeast authorities face the points of contention of this integration process that could determine whether Syria leaves behind years of conflict or veers into a new violent chapter.

President Ahmad Al-Sharaa became the first Syrian Head of State to visit the White House, where he met his American counterpart, Donald Trump, on November 10. The visit, a major step in Syria's reintegration into the international community, is also part of Damascus’ efforts to fully repeal the Caesar sanctions.

The military operation launched by the government last week targeting French jihadists in northwestern Syria, which led to two-day clashes, has raised questions regarding the fate of foreign combatants still present in the country. 

Since mid-2025, Syria has been witnessing an increasing number of protests across various regions. Industrialists, students, and property owners in destroyed neighbourhoods, among others, have organised protests and sit-ins, with demands mostly revolving around economic issues that directly affect citizens’ daily lives.

On October 15, Syria’s President Ahmad Al-Sharaa met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow in a bid to enhance cooperation between both countries.

After an episode of tension earlier this month in Aleppo, the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have resumed talks to integrate the latter into the country’s new army.

The results of the first elections in post-Assad Syria have sparked widespread debate over representation and inclusivity. Critics highlighted the limited representation of women and the marginalisation of religious and ethnic minorities, while others viewed the process as the most practical outcome achievable under the current transitional conditions. Supporters argued that the president’s forthcoming appointments would help to redress existing imbalances and ensure broader representation.

On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, the Syrian delegation led by President Ahmad Al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Assad Al-Shibani held 31 meetings and encounters with foreign leaders from countries such as the United States, Italy, Germany, and Ukraine.

Syrian Transitional President Ahmad Al-Sharaa is expected to visit New York next week to address the United Nations General Assembly. The month after, he is expected to visit Moscow, leading Syria's delegation to the first Russian-Arab summit. After more than a decade of diplomatic isolation, Syria is working towards its reintegration into the international community while conducting a diplomatic balancing act.

Beyond bouts of localised violence, the ceasefire agreement has overall held over the summer, but Suweida still reels from the socio-economic spillover linked to the vast destruction of infrastructure, displacement, and constrictions to humanitarian work.