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  • 20 Jun 2023
    • Russia
    • Ukraine
    • United Kingdom
    • Syria

    Chemical weapons: Impunity is killing deterrence

    Joel Keep
    Poisoning continues as a favoured form of invisible warfare meted out by dictators and autocrats, with horrific results.
  • 10 Feb 2023
    • Syria
    • Türkiye

    The grim toll of Türkiye’s earthquake will also shift regional politics

    William Gourlay
    The international outpouring of support has gone beyond friends but to unexpected quarters, too.
  • 28 Jun 2022
    • Russia
    • Ukraine
    • Syria
    • Türkiye

    How Turkey’s position on Ukraine is further destabilising Syria

    Samy Akil , Alexander Langlois
    Erdoğan wants sanctions relief and is forcing NATO leaders into making an uncomfortable choice.
  • 9 May 2022
    • Syria
    • Russia
    • Türkiye
    • Ukraine

    Turkey’s leverage over Russia – in Syria and beyond

    Nikola Mikovic
    Ankara and Moscow are in an unusual power play where the Kremlin turns a blind eye to actions that aid its adversaries.
  • 13 Sep 2021
    • United States
    • Syria
    • Iran
    • Iraq
    • Energy
    • Lebanon

    Iran’s energy diplomacy

    Rodger Shanahan
    Tehran knows its hand when it comes to playing the energy card across the region.
  • 12 Aug 2021
    • Syria
    • Human rights
    • International law

    Syria: The consequences of intellectual failure and moral neglect

    Bob Bowker
    No Western government should abide policy goals that in practice are pursued via collective punishment of Syrian people.
  • 26 Jul 2021
    • Syria
    • ISIS
    • Terrorism
    • Australia
    • Migration

    Bringing home Australian children trapped in Syrian camps

    Rodger Shanahan
    Faced with thorny legal and security obstacles for the adults, it may be better to return children alone.
  • 2 Feb 2021
    • United States
    • Syria

    Syrian stasis

    Rodger Shanahan
    Washington isn’t likely to pay much attention to the Syria conflict – and nothing much will change.
  • 7 Aug 2020
    • Asylum Seekers
    • Australian Foreign Aid
    • Syria
    • Migration
    • Human rights

    The Beirut explosion and the plight of Syrian refugees

    Erin Watson-Lynn
    The blast that killed over 100 and injured thousands is also a reminder of the fragile existence of millions.
  • 6 Aug 2020
    • Middle East
    • United States
    • Syria

    It’s always about the oil in the Middle East

    Rodger Shanahan
    Confused by regional dynamics? Look to the constants.
  • 17 Jul 2020
    • Syria
    • United Nations
    • China
    • Russia

    The obstacles to Syrian aid

    Rebecca Barber
    Russia and China have used the Security Council to squelch cross-border humanitarian assistance. It’s time for options.
  • 9 Jul 2020
    • Middle East
    • Syria
    • Iran
    • Saudi Arabia
    • Yemen
    • Türkiye
    • Israel

    Cashing in the chips at the Trump casino

    Rodger Shanahan
    The prospect of a Biden administration has pro-US leaders in the Middle East seeking to keep their political “winnings”.
  • 22 Jun 2020
    • Syria

    Syria: Thumbs down

    Rodger Shanahan
    New sanctions under the so-called Caesar Act might target the regime in Damascus, but the burden will be felt by locals.
  • 11 Jun 2020
    • Syria
    • War Crimes
    • Germany

    With Syrian prosecutions, a rare case of universal jurisdiction

    Craig Hershowitz
    A seldom-used legal concept demonstrates the reach of justice even in the most hopeless circumstances.
  • 1 Jun 2020
    • United States
    • Syria
    • ISIS
    • Terrorism
    • Iraq

    Need To Know: Brett McGurk on America’s strategy to defeat ISIS

    Rodger Shanahan
    In a new interview series, the former US special envoy discusses conflict in Syria and maximalist foreign policy goals.
  • 5 Mar 2020
    • Syria
    • European Union
    • Türkiye
    • Coronavirus

    Europe under threat

    Daniel Woker
    Yes, by coronavirus, but also by fighting in Syria and Libya. Can the EU react adequately? What will Brexit Britain do?
  • 3 Mar 2020
    • Syria
    • United Nations

    Syria: What the UN can do, and must do

    Rebecca Barber
    With the Security Council once more hostage to the veto, the General Assembly should test the world’s resolve.
  • 3 Mar 2020
    • Syria
    • Türkiye

    Syria: The battlefield rules

    Rodger Shanahan
    Every action prompts a reaction, as a success for Assad forces an angry response from Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey.
  • 11 Feb 2020
    • Middle East
    • Syria
    • Iraq

    Middle East dispatch: A paper closes, a rift opens, Syria slips

    Lauren Williams
    New hostilities between Turkey and Syria mark another blow to the Astana process and further tragedy for civilians.
  • 5 Nov 2019
    • Syria
    • Rules Based Audio

    October in Syria: Podcast out now

    Kelsey Munro
    Rodger Shanahan unpacks the US withdrawal from Syria and the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Are they linked?
  • 28 Oct 2019
    • Global Issues
    • Syria
    • Kurdistan
    • Türkiye

    The worrying precedent of Turkey’s “safe zone”

    Rebecca Barber
    Under international law, one country cannot invade another to seize territory – yet that appears to have been endorsed.
  • 24 Oct 2019
    • Syria
    • Terrorism
    • Australia
    • Iraq

    Trump’s troop withdrawal and what’s next for Islamic State

    Daniel Flitton , Lydia Khalil
    Having pre-emptively declared the militant group “100% defeated”, the pull back from Syria raises different threats.
  • 14 Oct 2019
    • Syria
    • Türkiye

    Turkey’s “safe zone” may prove costly

    Xiaoli Guo
    In Ankara’s view, the intervention in Syria has been a diplomatic and military success, but an economic risk looms.
  • 9 Oct 2019
    • United States
    • Syria
    • Australia

    The sharp shift on Syria

    Brigid O’Farrell
    To pull out from northern Syria only invites more trouble – already ISIS is seeking advantage.
  • 24 Sep 2019
    • Syria
    • United Nations
    • Russia

    Syria: the disgraceful stain left by the UN Security Council veto

    Rebecca Barber
    The General Assembly has a chance to act in the interests of peace in the face of Russian and Chinese intransigence.
  • 19 Sep 2019
    • Syria
    • Australia

    Syria: Is it time for the West to talk with Assad?

    Bob Bowker
    Engaging Assad, while repugnant, is better than words of sound and fury delivered that makes little difference.
  • 21 Mar 2019
    • Syria
    • Terrorism
    • Australia

    Who bears responsibility for the children of ISIS?

    Rodger Shanahan , Jennifer Percival
    There are 70 Australian minors affiliated with ISIS in Syria. Yet there is no policy or direction on repatriation.
  • 19 Feb 2019
    • Syria
    • ISIS
    • Terrorism
    • United Kingdom

    Repatriating female foreign fighters: political not personal

    Lydia Khalil
    <p>Many foreign women who join ISIS were not duped or coerced. It is time to recognise Shamima Begum’s agency.</p>
  • 18 Jan 2019
    • Syria

    Syria: emerging consequences of the US withdrawal

    Rodger Shanahan
    Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Syria has actors scrambling to make sense of the ramifications.
  • 20 Dec 2018
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • Syria

    What happens next? Trump’s sudden Syria exit

    Rodger Shanahan
    Exactly what “moving on” means will become apparent in the months ahead but such a rapid exit has obvious ramifications.
  • 4 Oct 2018
    • Syria

    The danger of mission creep in Syria

    Rodger Shanahan
    American troops went to support locals to defeat ISIS, but staying until Iranian forces withdraw is a different goal.
  • 20 Sep 2018
    • Syria
    • Russia

    The crowded skies of Syria

    Rodger Shanahan
    Another plane destroyed shows despite a three-year intervention, Russian commanders don’t always know what they should. 
  • 10 Sep 2018
    • Syria

    Idlib – the (nearly) final frontier

    Rodger Shanahan
    Turkey seems to be in the weakest position in negotiations with Russia and Iran as the pressure on Idlib builds.
  • 22 Aug 2018
    • Syria

    Dollars for Syria

    Rodger Shanahan
    Given that all signs point to Bashar al-Assad staying in power, who pays for reconstruction becomes a thorny question.
  • 10 Jul 2018
    • Syria

    Syria: extinguishing the flame of the revolution

    Rodger Shanahan
    Bashar al-Assad faces more challenges, but momentum in military campaigns is a difficult thing to stop.
  • 19 Apr 2018
    • Europe
    • Syria

    Europe: the movers and the shakers

    David Ritchie
    The responses to the Syria strikes illustrate a troubling divide in Europe in defending Western principles.
  • 15 Apr 2018
    • United States
    • Syria

    Syria strikes: mission accomplished?

    Daniel Flitton
    <p>The US felt compelled to act,&nbsp;Bashar al-Assad has been punished,&nbsp;yet may not be deterred.</p>
  • 13 Apr 2018
    • United States
    • Syria
    • Russia

    In Syria, Trump must collude with Russia

    Lydia Khalil
    Airstrikes aside, the US needs Moscow to influence the Assad regime and negotiate an end to this sordid conflict.
  • 11 Apr 2018
    • Syria
    • Iran
    • Russia

    Rouhani, Erdogan, and Putin’s bizarre love triangle

    Wayne McLean
    Jostling over Syria offers a glimpse of emerging alliances and compromises as the US-led security order winds down.
  • 15 Mar 2018
    • Syria
    • Terrorism

    Sifting evil intent from charities doing good

    Rodger Shanahan
    The nexus between aid and terrorism is a delicate and often difficult subject.
  • 5 Mar 2018
    • Syria
    • Russia

    To Russia: a plea of caution on Syria

    Melinda Rankin
    Vladimir Putin is haunted by his own words on this tragic conflict.
  • 26 Feb 2018
    • Syria

    Russia a reluctant driver in the Syrian war

    Joost Hiltermann
    Moscow is averse or incapable of assuming the mantle of ultimate arbiter in Syria.
  • 23 Feb 2018
    • Syria

    The depressing sameness of the fight for Ghouta

    Rodger Shanahan
    The media should focus as much on armed groups among civilians as Syrian and Russian atrocities.
  • 8 Feb 2018
    • Syria
    • War Crimes

    Syria: a plan to name and shame chemical weapons suspects

    John Hart
    A French initiative, backed by Australia and international organisations, aims to hold supporters of chemical weapons use legally accountable.
  • 7 Feb 2018
    • Syria
    • Russia

    Shot down over Syria

    Rodger Shanahan
    Vladimir Putin could never countenance anything other than a swift and severe response to Syrian rebels who shot down a Russian Su-25.
  • 23 Jan 2018
    • Syria
    • The Trump Presidency
    • Kurdistan
    • Türkiye

    Washington's weak hand to play in Syria

    Rodger Shanahan
    US policy in Syria is full of holes without a strategic plan for once the mission to defeat ISIS concludes.
  • 16 Jan 2018
    • Syria
    • Russia

    Putin’s ‘Mission Accomplished’ moment

    Rodger Shanahan
    An attack by a swarm of drones shows Russia’s fight in Syria is far from over.
  • 13 Dec 2017
    • Syria
    • Russia

    Russia is not really withdrawing from Syria

    Rodger Shanahan
    Vladimir Putin is burnishing his strong-man image but Russian forces are still in Syria.
  • 7 Nov 2017
    • Syria
    • Russia

    Russia in Syria: A course strewn with obstacles

    Stephen Blank
    Unrest plays into Russia’s geopolitical vision, yet Moscow has now assumed the obligation to provide a stable Syrian government.
  • 27 Oct 2017
    • Syria
    • Iraq
    • Kurdistan
    • Türkiye

    Kurds aren’t always the good guys

    Rodger Shanahan
    Foreign fighters who join armed Kurdish groups become hostage to their political agenda.
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