In the nine years since protesters in Syria first demonstrated against the four-decade rule of the Assad family, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed and some twelve million people—more than half the country’s prewar population—have been displaced.
Feb 19, 2020
In the nine years since protesters in Syria first demonstrated against the four-decade rule of the Assad family, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed and some twelve million people—more than half the country’s prewar population—have been displaced.
Feb 19, 2020
  • Hungary
    Syria-Turkey Relations, Israel’s Ongoing Domestic Tensions, the Pope Visits Hungary, and More
    Podcast
    Iran and Russia aim to broker a rapprochement between Syria and Turkey; the Israeli Knesset begins its summer session in the face of mass protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed judicial reforms; Pope Francis makes a three-day visit to Hungary, where he is expected to raise concerns about migration and the war in Ukraine; and a cease-fire fails to put an end to conflict in Sudan.
  • Middle East and North Africa
    ISA Luncheon Discussion: Geopolitics in the Middle East
    Podcast
    The CFR Academic luncheon event held in conjunction with the International Studies Association Convention featured a discussion on Geopolitics in the Middle East on Friday, March 17, in Montréal. The conversation featured Steven A. Cook, Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies and director of the International Affairs Fellowship for Tenured International Relations Scholars at CFR; Nicole Grajewski, Stanton nuclear security postdoctoral fellow in the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University; and Catherine E. Herrold, associate professor of public administration and international affairs at Syracuse University. Lawrence P. Rubin, associate professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology, moderated the discussion. 
  • Syria
    Syria’s Civil War
  • Middle East and North Africa
    Massive Earthquake Could Reshape Turkish and Syrian Politics
    Turkish President Erdogan and Syrian President Assad could see opportunities to extend their rules in the disaster that has killed tens of thousands and pushed relief systems to their limits.
  • Turkey
    Turkey-Syria Earthquake Aftermath, Khamenei’s Pardon, Lula Visits Washington, and More
    Podcast
    Turkey and Syria struggle to respond to devastating earthquakes; Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, puts forward possible pardons for thousands of protesters; and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva meets with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington, DC.
  • Kurds
    The Kurds’ Long Struggle With Statelessness
    The Kurds are one of the world’s largest peoples without a state, making up sizable minorities in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Their century-old fight for rights, autonomy, and even an independent Kurdistan has been marked by marginalization and persecution.
  • Syria
    The Conflict in Syria and the Failure of International Law to Protect People Globally
    On the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, David Scheffer, International Francqui Professor (Spring 2022) at KU Leuven, reviews Jeremy Sarkin’s latest book ‘T…
  • Syria
    Bringing Justice Home: Dispatches from the ISIS ‘Beatles’ Trial
    Terrorists fail when we choose light over darkness—when peaceful justice prevails over anger and fear.
  • Global Governance
    CFR Term Member Spotlight Series: Hagar Hajjar Chemali
    Play
    Our new series spotlights individuals within the Stephen M. Kellen Term Member Program. Drawing on the enormous amount of talent and expertise within the Council’s Term Member Program, this series features a term member in conversation with a fellow term member discussing their career path, how they got to where they are, the challenges they have faced along the way, and the current work they are doing. We hope this regular series will provide an opportunity for Council term members to better engage and learn from one another, draw upon shared experiences within the group, and connect across geographies. Our second installment in this series features fifth-year term member Hagar Chemali, CEO and founder of Greenwich Media Strategies, in conversation with second-year term member Brit McCandless Farmer, digital producer at 60 Minutes. For those of you who do not know her yet, Hagar's impressive career includes serving twelve years in the U.S. government as director for Syria and Lebanon at the National Security Council, spokesperson for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and director of communications and spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Following her time in government, Hagar has gone on to found a communications strategy firm and to be a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Economic Sanctions Initiative. She also hosts, writes, and produces a weekly world news show on YouTube called Oh My World! that covers the top news stories in a fun, accessible, and humorous way.