A monthly magazine on Syrian politics and society that cuts through the noise

Book Review

Assadism as lived experience 

A review of Rime Allaf’s book It Started in Damascus

What does dictatorship do to people’s inner lives? Our review of Rime Allaf’s chronicle examines how Assadism seeped into language, memory and conscience, taking root in social habits shaped by fear a…

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Local Dynamics
Autonomy under siege
Kurdish leaders face increasing polarisation at home as they attempt to hold back an emboldened Damascus
Politics & Power
Small Town Syria
Syria’s governance is marked by HTS factionalism rooted in provincial loyalties
Local Dynamics
Handarat after the fall
A shattered refugee camp becomes emblematic of the Palestinian ordeal in Syria 
Economy, Aid & Reconstruction
No quick fix
Oil, wheat and the limits of economic recovery in northeast Syria
Diplomacy
The demise of Conflict Studies
Who benefitted from a field tied to Western power?
Diplomacy
Gulf War III
The Iran-Iraq war offers useful lessons for the beleaguered Gulf states
March 2026 issue →
Issue 33

Opinion

Voices that sharpen Syria's public debate

Hiba Ezzideen

Drunk on freedom

In Damascus, a protest over alcohol becomes something far bigger: a moment where Syrians – many of them devout, many of them women – push back against state control and reclaim the right to define their own society.

29. March 2026

Majed Dawi

How can trust be built between Damascus and the Kurds today?

Damascus may be closing the military chapter of Syria’s war, but without resolving detainees, displacement, and Kurdish political rights, the harder task of earning trust has only just begun.

28. March 2026

Ahmad Omar

Will the Syrian Army enter Lebanon before Qamishli and Suwayda?

Is Syria preparing to march into Lebanon before it has even stitched itself back together at home? As Washington flirts with outsourcing the difficult task of disarming Hezbollah, Damascus weighs the risks of a new entanglement.

25. March 2026

Hiba Ezzideen

Nowruz and Mother’s Day: a tale of two symbols

On 21 March, Syria marks Nowruz and Mother’s Day. The former was suppressed under the old regime, the latter publicly celebrated. In a sign of the times, the tables have now turned. 

21. March 2026

Kinan al-Nahhas

I fought Hezbollah in Homs. Seeking revenge in Lebanon is wrong

Scarred by the siege of Homs and mindful of the regional war, Syria faces a dangerous temptation: to settle old scores in Lebanon. But intervention now risks entangling a fragile state in Israel’s war.

19. March 2026

Mona Abboud

Our kitchens carried the revolution

For years, Syrian women left their kitchens to search prisons and demand answers about their missing loved ones. Now that the regime has fallen, many are being asked to return to the kitchen. Why?

18. March 2026

Alexander McKeever

What’s next for the PYD?

After years of presenting its rule as a multicultural alternative for northeast Syria, the PYD is returning to explicitly Kurdish politics. The party’s new position between Damascus and its Kurdish constituents presents new challenges. 

16. March 2026

Mohamad Kheir Alwazir

Extradition, deportation, or abduction?

Syria’s new government wants to pursue the crimes of the Assad era through international law. But the case of an Emirati dissident detained in Damascus raises a troubling question: will the tools of justice become instruments of repression?

15. March 2026
More opinions

What (some) Syrians think

Syria Poll is live! The first wave presents findings from surveys conducted in Damascus, Rural Damascus, and Homs in early February 2026. Syria Poll examines how residents assess their living conditions, government performance, and recent political developments.

Click to read the survey results
More surveys

Previous issues

  • February 2026

    Issue 32
  • January 2026

    Issue 31
  • December 2025

    Issue 30
  • November 2025

    Issue 29
  • September 2025

    Issue 28
View archive

About

Syria in Transition is a monthly magazine on Syrian politics, society, economics and culture. Produced by an experienced and diverse team of independent journalists, researchers, and linguists, it challenges lazy narratives, connects the dots, and stimulates debate on the issues that matter.

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