Opinion
-
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
-
The return of Syrian culture
For decades, Syrian culture lived under the shadow of the security state. Now, with the fall of the regime, writers and artists are beginning to reclaim the public space and to rethink the meaning of culture itself.
13. March 2026
-
Chewing on Baathist gum
Syria may have entered a “new era”, but listen closely and the language sounds unsettlingly familiar. From Baathist clichés to bureaucratic relics, the vocabulary of the old regime lives on in the speeches and official paperwork.
11. March 2026
-
Feminists or not, the door is closed to all women
For years, Syrian women debated whether feminism or a more conservative language of “women’s issues” was the better path to political inclusion. But after the latest election results, one reality is impossible to ignore: regardless of the language they use, women remain locked out of power.
10. March 2026
-
How the government is looking to absorb popular anger
As economic hardship deepens and public frustration grows, Syria’s leadership is floating the idea of a semi-presidential system. But is this genuine reform – or a way to redirect responsibility while preserving the concentration of power?
08. March 2026
-
Enough with empty slogans - we need a national narrative
Assad’s fall created a vacuum of national belonging. Without mutual recognition and a genuinely shared social contract between all citizens, calls for "national unity" risk worsening the problem.
06. March 2026
-
What justice do we want?
In the new Syria, one question remains: what kind of justice do we want? A justice that repairs society and restores trust in the state — or a selective justice that reproduces fear and throws open the doors to revenge?
03. March 2026
-
Our memory is not a Ramadan TV fad
As Ramadan dramas mine Syria’s revolution for ratings, a new series appropriates the name “Caesar” but strips it of its meaning. For those who endured detention, torture and disappearance, our memory is not seasonal content, and justice is not a script to be softened for prime time.
01. March 2026
-
What I overheard at the mosque
In post-dictatorship Syria, lipstick sparks more outrage than corruption. An overheard conversation in a mosque reveals a nation trying to control its destiny by controlling what women put on their faces.
27. February 2026
-
Germany’s Nuremberg trials are no blueprint for Syria
Can Germany’s post-war experience really serve as a blueprint for Syria’s transitional justice? A closer look reveals a far more complex – and violent – reality than the oft-cited Nuremberg Trials. Syria must craft its own path to justice, grounded in law, accountability, and the rights of victims.
25. February 2026