Opinion
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What if women ruled Syria?
Different social experiences can produce different political priorities. Yet even women may end up reproducing authoritarianism when the system itself remains unchanged.
13. May 2026
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The politics of sport in Sharaa’s Syria
The Syrian government is using sport to build legitimacy and a youthful image. That’s easier said than done in a deeply divided country.
02. May 2026
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Ghassan Abboud and the search for recognition
In today’s Syria, everyone wants recognition. From billionaires to forgotten defectors and anonymous survivors, the struggle over who deserves honour for their participation in the revolution is getting increasingly public – and fractious.
30. April 2026
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Women are not a minority
Half the population is systematically sidelined. Power structures and discourse is turning women into a political minority.
22. April 2026
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Syria as a Turkish TV drama
From Ottoman epics to borderland dramas, stories reflect politics but fail to offer closure
19. April 2026
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Are Syrians today free?
The fall of Assad may have ended a regime but not the deeper habits of fear, obedience, and exclusion that sustained it. True freedom requires dismantling the cultural and institutional roots of despotism itself.
11. April 2026
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We need to talk about corruption
Ask any Syrian about his daily experiences, and corruption will come up quickly. It feels all too familiar.
09. April 2026
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Buying a shirt in Syria is a lesson in mental arithmetic
What should have been a quick trip to buy a child’s shirt became a frustrating exercise in currency chaos. Welcome to everyday life in Syria, where everything is more complicated than it should be.
06. April 2026
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Larijani’s final dialogue
A Persian novel, a medieval mystic, and a final conversation between Ali Larijani and Alexander Dugin converge on Syria as a stage of recurring end times, where ancient metaphysics and modern geopolitics collide.
04. April 2026
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Of wine, whine and wounded virtue
An alcohol regulation in Damascus spirals into a culture war.
31. March 2026