Latest writing and updates:
Foreign Affairs: “Syria’s Imperiled Transition”
My latest for Foreign Affairs: On Syria's acute cost-of-living crisis – which I think poses a real danger to the country's political transition – and the ways the Shara' government is making it worse…
Inkstick Media: “In the Age of Trump, Progressives Should Stand Up for Sovereignty”
My latest for Inkstick Media, on Trump's attempts to dominate countries in the Western Hemisphere and beyond, and why I think American progressives should be out in front defending these countries' sovereignty – their right to be independent and free…
Foreign Policy: “Trump’s Lebanon Negotiations Are Breaking the Country”
My latest for Foreign Policy, on U.S.-brokered Israel-Lebanon talks that seem premised on embarrassing and discrediting Lebanon’s leaders without even offering a real ceasefire in exchange…
Century International: “Lebanon and Syria’s Detainee Dilemma”
My latest for Century International: On why it's difficult for Lebanon and Syria to reach a deal to repatriate Syrians held in Lebanese prisons, and what that says about the two countries' relationship going forward…
TIME: “Why Ahmed al-Sharaa’s U.N. Debut Matters”
My latest for TIME: On Syrian president Ahmad al-Shara's appearance at the UN General Assembly, and how UN members now welcoming him in New York need to be careful not to encourage him to impose control on a still divided country…
L’Orient-Le Jour: “Une Opportunité Pour Réchauffer les Relations Entre le Liban et la Syrie” / L’Orient Today, “Lebanon’s refugee returns program can solidify relations with Syria”
My latest for L'Orient Today/L'Orient-Le Jour, on how Lebanon's Syrian refugee return program fits into a Lebanese-Syrian bilateral relationship that I think is going to be challenging…
An-Nahar: “Promising Plan for Syrian Refugee Returns… If Salam Government Sticks With It”
My new op-ed in Lebanon's An-Nahar on the Salam government's Syrian refugee returns plan…
Century International: “Home to Syria: Lebanon’s New Refugee Returns Plan”
My new Century International report on the Lebanese government's new Syrian refugee return plan – what the plan is, its realistic prospects, and how to deliver returns that are truly sustainable…
L’Orient Today: “The Ever-shifting Sands of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon”
I have a new commentary in Lebanon's L'Orient Today on how to understand the number of Syrian refugee returns from Lebanon since December, and the implications for Lebanon's returns policy…
Enab Baladi: “Trump Syria Policy's Cold Features”
Again, for Arabic readers: I have a new op-ed in Syria's Enab Baladi about the Trump administration's Syria policy and prospects for sanctions relief, based on my visit to Washington earlier this month…
An-Nahar: “Displaced Syrians Haven't Returned After Assad's Fall… Study Lays Out the Reasons”
For any Arabic readers: I published an op-ed in Lebanon's An-Nahar yesterday about the reality of Syrian refugee return from Lebanon since Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December – a reality that has been more complicated than many in Lebanon expected…
Century International: “Cross-Border Shuffle: Refugee Movement Between Lebanon and Syria after Assad”
Since the fall of Assad, tens of thousands of Syrians have been moving across the Lebanese-Syrian border – in both directions, from Lebanon to Syria and Syria to Lebanon. My new report for Century International lays out who is moving where, and why…
Century International: “Will Sectarian Massacres Derail Syria’s Transition?”
A short Q&A with me and my Century International colleague Aron Lund on the sectarian killings that the Syrian coast saw this past weekend, and their lasting ramifications…
Century International: “Assad Is Gone—But for Refugees to Return, the World Needs to Invest in Syria’s Peace”
My new Century International commentary on the return of Syrian refugees from Lebanon, and why we may not see large-scale returns just yet…
Foreign Affairs: “How to Hold Syria Together”
My new article for Foreign Affairs, on why I think people's focus on the Syrian Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its ideology might be misplaced – based on Syrian rebels' previous, largely anarchic experiments in governance, and the generally depleted state of the country, I'm less worried about religious extremism and more worried about chaos…
Century International: “Syria’s Civil War Has Roared Back. How Far Can the Rebels Go?”
A quick Q&A that my Century International colleague Aron Lund and I did on Syrian opposition factions' rapid advance in the country's northwest…
Century International: “The United States Should Stop Cosponsoring Israel’s War on Lebanon”
My latest commentary for Century International, on my extreme dismay 😐 at the Biden administration's support for Israel's war on Lebanon…
TIME: “Where Hezbollah Goes From Here”
Here's a quick analysis I wrote for TIME, on the outlook for Lebanon and Hizbullah now that whatever deterrence previously constrained Israel has broken down…
Century International: “Washington Can’t Make Israel’s War in Gaza Moral. Instead, It Needs to End the War.”
My latest for Century International, on the nature of Israel's military campaign in Gaza and U.S. policy elites' seeming inability to see the war for what it is…
World Politics Review: “The U.S. Should Start Planning Its Exit From Iraq and Syria”
My latest for World Politics Review, this time on a U.S. military presence in Iraq and Syria that seems to have run its course…