Tag: Ethnic Conflict

A soldier in military uniform standing guard near a mosque and city traffic.

Syria’s New Army Is Built on Fault Lines, Not Foundations

This analysis examines the structural challenges facing Syria’s post-2024 military integration. Rather than establishing a centralized national institution, the transitional authorities in Damascus have incorporated wartime factions intact, effectively codifying local patronage networks and kinship-based command structures. We explore how this “federation of armed communities” mirrors the failures of past post-conflict settlements in Lebanon and Iraq, raising serious questions about the long-term viability of the new Syrian state and its ability to exert genuine central control.

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Hakan Fidan sitting at a diplomatic conference table with a Turkish flag in the foreground.

Turkey’s Push to End the Iran War Is Really About Self-Preservation

Turkey’s diplomatic push to end the war is driven by urgent self-preservation, fearing a Kurdish autonomous zone in Iran and a catastrophic refugee wave. With soaring energy costs widening its deficit and a shared 350-mile border, Ankara is positioning itself as a mediator to prevent regional collapse and domestic instability.

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Kurdish YPG and SDF fighters with a wooden Trojan horse metaphor and smoke rising in the background.

Rojava’s End: How Washington Discarded Its Kurdish Allies

Rojava collapsed after Damascus seized most DAANES territory, ending a decade‑long Kurdish experiment dependent on U.S. protection. Washington shifted support to Syria’s new government, transferring thousands of ISIS detainees. As Kurdish forces are absorbed into the state, attention turns to Iran’s Kurdish movements — the next potential pressure point in regional geopolitics.

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