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

Politics & Power

Live by the sword

Syria's president is using force to unify the country. It’s a bold move, but not without its risks

Ahmad al-Sharaa has chosen force over dialogue. Working with Turkey, Russia, and the US to crush the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and reassert Damascus’s authority over the northeast, Syria’s presid…

Continue reading
Diplomacy
Wise after the fact
Three points on SDF integration that don’t stand scrutiny
Politics & Power
Play hard, trust no one
Lessons from the General Syrian Congress, 1919-1920
Local Dynamics
New Look Shabiha
A Sunni town’s uneasy reinvention after years as a regime stronghold
Interviews
Defiance
A conversation with Loubna Mrie
February 2026 issue →
Issue 32

Opinion

Voices that sharpen Syria's public debate

Muhsen al-Mustafa

Syria’s Kurds have an opportunity

With the military balance shifting and regional dynamics realigning, Syria’s Kurds face a rare opening: shift decisively from armed militias to political engagement and pluralism within a constitutional framework. They should seize the opportunity or risk further reversals. 

31. January 2026

Ahmad Omar

The fall of Syria’s Berlin Wall

For a decade, Syria lived with an invisible partition between east and west that reshaped loyalty and daily life. Its collapse opens a dangerous transition in which unity must be rebuilt before the divide hardens again.

29. January 2026

Hussam Eddin Mohammad

The Baath Party: a sadistic reading

A pair of Baathist memoirs, read against de Sade’s Justine, reveal a politics that rewards brutality and betrayal while clinging to the language of virtue.

26. January 2026

Yaser al-Dhaher

What comes after the liberation of eastern Syria?

The return of the state to eastern Syria may have secured territory and resources, but it has yet to answer the harder question of people. Without putting citizens – not oil – at the centre of reconstruction and decision-making, liberation risks becoming a missed political moment. 

22. January 2026

Samer al-Ani

When revolutionaries are asked to forget their dreams

A revolution that learned to restrain itself now finds its dreams quietly expropriated by those who rule in its name. When calls for “state-building” serve to discipline the public but not the powerful, disillusionment and anger will set in.

20. January 2026

Ahmad Omar

Beards and bosses

In today’s Syria, everyone has found God, even the Marxists. But beneath the holy man acts and religious theatre, minority groups that have little in common are quietly cutting deals to keep the Islamists out and the good times in.

18. January 2026

Mona Abboud

The voice Syrians cling to when things fall apart

Fairuz accompanied Syrians from kitchen mornings to prison corridors. Her voice still holds together a country shattered by war.

15. January 2026

Yasser al-Dhaher

Syria’s media is silent on the questions that matter

Syria’s post-revolution media was meant to hold power to account. Instead, it overlooks experienced journalists, avoids sensitive issues, and speaks loudly only when repeating official lines.

12. January 2026
More opinions

What Syrians think

Syria Poll is a bi-monthly series of representative surveys measuring public attitudes and perceptions. Stay tuned.

Previous issues

  • January 2026

    Issue 31
  • December 2025

    Issue 30
  • November 2025

    Issue 29
  • September 2025

    Issue 28
  • August 2025

    Issue 27
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.

More

Subscribe to get SiT delivered straight to your inbox

* indicates required
English