A Scandal Shakes the Throne of Damascus’ New Ruler: “Give Them a Chance”? - The Syrian Observer An investigation exposes how Sharaa’s inner trio—Hazem, the Australian, and Zurba—took control of 80% of the financial empire once owned by Mohammad Hamsho and Yasar Ibrahim in exchange for legal immu...

Thread.
The Reuters' investigation into the massive wealth accumulation of al-Sharaa and his inner circle is important, but this take on a sovereign wealth fund is off. A country with Syria's urgent needs requires a reconstruction fund, not an SWF.

syrianobserver.com/syrian-actor...

Magazine #2 - Fascisme 2.0Été 2025 - AOC media - Analyse Opinion Critique Magazine #2 - Fascisme 2.0Été 2025 sur AOC.

À la notable exception de la matinale de France Inter – avec les 80 secondes de Nicolas Demorand – aucun média ne s’est fait l’écho du nouveau numéro du magazine papier d’AOC consacré au « Fascisme 2.0 ». Nous comptons sur vous pour le faire connaître. C’est décisif. aoc.media/produit/maga...

Au sud de la Syrie, les affrontements entre les Druzes et les Bédouins ravivent le spectre des divisions communautaires Des combats font rage entre la communauté druze et bédouine au sud de la Syrie, ravivant les pires traumatises de la guerre civile.

Mon entretien avec The Conversation concernant les violences à Suwayda theconversation.com/au-sud-de-la...

Local Governance in Post-Assad Syria: A Hybrid State Model for the Future? Damascus is increasingly adopting a system of rule that combines centralized and localized forms of administration and security maintenance, an approach that seems suited to the needs of a country fra...

Very interesting report by Gregory Waters with a wealth of first-and information carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

In Syria, it's Trump vs. Trump: Will he be remembered as the man who gave Syria “a chance at greatness” or as the man who thwarted its post-Assad transition?

👉 Read my latest for @foreignpolicy.com!

foreignpolicy.com/2025/07/16/t...

"Turkish officials told Middle East Eye they had no desire to risk a direct confrontation with Israel in Syria or turn it into another battleground, especially after 13 years of civil war.

They also worry that such tensions would poison the efforts to reconstruct Syria as a state"

S. #Syria: mosques in Lajat (important tribal area in #Daraa province) called for mobilization following the retaliations against the Bedouins in #Suwayda.

Tribes from other parts of Syria are also mobilizing.

Clashes between tribal & Druze fighters also reported in different areas in Suwayda.

S. #Syria: an example of the current situation unfolding in #Suwayda province and the settling of scores: a fighter, reportedly affiliated with Hijri, broke the tomb of Wahid al-Balous, the founder of the "Men of Dignity Movement" and father of pro-government figure Laith al-Balous.

When Israel killed Hassan Nasrallah last year, Palestinian Islamist Hudhayfa 'Azzam warned the Syrian rebels: instead of celebrating, you should start digging tunnels now, he told them, because you're next. I didn't think it would take less than a year for this forecast to prove correct.

Al-Shara probably made his first major error by launching a full-scale attack on Suwayda. He did so because he apparently overestimated US ability to rein in Israel. He thought he could make yet another successful poker move when in fact he should have continued to play chess with al-Hijri.

Invité international - Frappes israéliennes à Soueïda: «On serait peut-être au début d'une bataille de longue haleine» Violences meurtrières entre combattants druzes et bédouins depuis deux jours à Soueïda. L'aviation israélienne a bombardé ce mardi 15 juillet les forces gouvernementales syriennes après leur entrée da...

Mes commentaires sur la situation à Soueïda pour RFI www.rfi.fr/fr/podcasts/...

But would that fundamentally change Syria's position on the Golan? Damascus would simply claim that Shebaa is part of the occupied Golan, that's it. More difficult in Lebanon, as you explain.

Would that work as well if the Syrian government formally claimed sovereignty over Shebaa farms (which to my knowledge it has never done)? If the Lebanese government agrees then officially, there are no occupied Lebanese territories any more.

Televangelism as a phenomenon/ genre is often thought of as exclusively Christian (Prot, oft Pentecostal). Cf. the reporting on the recent passing of Jimmy Swaggart - crazy coincidence that my post came out the same day. But it’s been a growing trend across religions, including Islam, for decades.

One more thought: given how much power is personalized in the new Syrian regime, the president's own class background probably matters a lot as well.

Even after Dec 2024, dependence on the global capitalist system is not the whole picture: alliance with the urban bourgeoisie for purpose of regime stabilization should also be factored in.

This is an interesting piece, but I think the authors underestimate the depth of the new Syrian leaders' adhesion to neoliberal economics, which was already patent when they were ruling over Idlib.

Thanks a lot!

IDF soldiers ordered to shoot deliberately at unarmed Gazans waiting for humanitarian aid ***

Haaretz team interviews Israeli soldiers and officers who describe Israeli army's live-fire crowd control methods – including with grenades, mortars, and artillery fire – regularly killing and wounding desperate Gazans approaching food distribution points: www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

I'm not saying they want. My point is that when things go south in the region (and the often do), guns are more important than money.

Saudi-Syrian dynamics in post-civil war Lebanon are a good illustration of the limits of a regional strategy based on money alone

I think the latter take overestimates the "leadership" of Gulf states. They've never been able to project military power in the part of the Middle East that matters most to Turkey (Syria/Iraq).

Je suis d'accord. Je pense juste que "prêcher les convaincus" n'est pas une perte de temps et que ça doit sans doute même être une priorité.

Je n'ai jamais dit l'inverse. Mon propos est que ce n'est pas à eux que sont destinés les écrits théoriques sur les différentes formes de domination.

Évidemment mais il ne faut pas trop compter sur la force des arguments rationnels pour empêcher ça.

On n'écrit pas pour convaincre le gens d'en face (sauf si on a du temps à perdre)

Erdogan vows to boost Turkey's missile production as Israel-Iran war escalates Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey will strengthen its deterrence capabilities so that no country would dare attack it.

Erdogan announced plans this week to step up Turkey’s missile production. Some see it as a sign that the Israel-Iran war could trigger an arms race in the region, with countries aiming to build deterrence and preempt future conflicts

Via @suzanfraser.bsky.social

apnews.com/article/turk...

J'avais bien compris que ce n'est pas votre premier colloque 🙂

Si ça peut vous remonter le moral : c'était exactement ma première expérience de colloque quand j'étais doctorant, si ce n'est qu'en plus, il y avait Mathieu Bock-Côté dans mon panel ...

I'm old enough to remember a time when covering up the murder of a single child (Muhammad al-Durra) required elaborate conspiracy theories. Golden days in retrospect.