Syrian Civil War

Topic: Syrian Civil War

Members of the Syrian opposition in Aleppo (photo: Odd Anderson/AFP/Getty Images)

Interview with Nader Othman, deputy PM of the Syrian interim government

People want professionals, not Facebook heroes

The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces and the interim government it has formed have been subject to international criticism. They are regarded as ineffective, disunited and lacking support in Syria. Kristin Helberg spoke to the deputy prime minister of the interim government, Nader Othman, about elected provincial councils, progress and why Syria now needs engineers, not heroesMore

Four years of war in Syria: Where the uprising began and still lives on Peace initiatives for Syria: Negotiate locally, implement internationally Outside intervention in Syria: Wanted: moderate, reliable rebels for fight against IS Syria and the Ba'ath regime: Assad and the post-eternity era The Druze in the Syrian conflict: Potential to tip the scales

The Druze in the Syrian conflict

Potential to tip the scales

For many years, Syria's Druze community was regarded as a loyal ally of Assad. Yet their pleas to Damascus to protect them against extremist groups fell on deaf ears. Now, on account of their increasing distance to the Baath regime, the Druze are at risk of getting caught in the crossfire. Details by Firas MaksadMore

Four years of war in Syria: Where the uprising began and still lives on Syrian Christians and the Assad regime: "Assad is only protecting himself"Minorities in Syria: United against Assad Syria's minorities and the uprising against the regime: In Assad's fortress

Members of the Tunisian Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia (photo: picture-alliance/AP)

Radical Islamist groups in Tunisia

Tunisian-style jihad

The recent high-profile attack on the Bardo National Museum in Tunis shines a spotlight on the radical Islamist network that has emerged in Tunisia since the fall of the Ben Ali regime. An analysis by Hanspeter Mattes of the GIGA Institute for Middle East StudiesMore

After the attack on the Bardo Museum: Tunisia's darkest hour Interview with Rachid Ghannouchi: "If you sow dictatorship, you harvest terrorism"NGO report on the Jasmine Revolution and security in Tunisia: How to make the transition from dictatorship to democracy Islamists target Tunisia's universities: Freedom under threat

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during a military parade in Tehran on 18 April 2014 (photo: A. Kenare/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian foreign policy

Iran, Assad and the endless war

A nuclear agreement with Iran could also mean hope for the settlement of the Syrian conflict. An essay by Charlotte WiedemannMore

Nuclear talks with Iran: The long hoped-for breakthrough Interfaith dialogue: The missing ingredient in the Iran and P5+1 negotiations Iran's foreign policy: All options are open Profile of Qassem Soleimani: The man who pulls the strings The Kurds and Turkish–Iranian relations: Caught between two stools

"Syria Speaks"

Challenging violence with creativity

The recent launch of "Syria Speaks: Arts and Culture from the Frontline" at events in The Hague and Amsterdam was in a sense a homecoming for a remarkable book whose roots lie in an exhibition of works by Syrian artists and cartoonists held at the Prince Claus Fund Gallery in Amsterdam in 2012. By Susannah TarbushMore

Four years of war in Syria: Where the uprising began and still lives on The Syrian art project "Cutting Away the Void": Documenting the tragedy of the Syrian revolt Interview with the Syrian blogger Aboud Saeed: "When the regime lost its control, I lost my fear"The kidnapping of the "Douma 4": The Salafist and the human rights activist Interview with the Syrian artist Diala Brisly: Art is a luxury in Syria

The Palestinian-Jordanian political scientist and journalist Rami G. Khouri (photo: AP)

Interview with Rami G. Khouri

Fragmentation of the Arab world

The Palestinian-Jordanian political scientist and writer Rami G. Khouri sees links between increasing religious fanaticism and the reinvigoration of the old elites after the Arabellion. In an interview with Juliane Metzker, he looks back at four years of transformation, stagnation and instability in the Arab states.More

The Geopolitical Situation in the Middle East: Between terror and the dissolution of order Relations between Saudi Arabia and Egypt: Conditional support Sunni-Shia conflict: The enemy of my enemy Peace initiatives for Syria: Negotiate locally, implement internationally

IS suicide bombers try to halt the advance of Iraqi forces in southern Tikrit (photo: Reuters)

The geopolitical situation in the Middle East

Between terror and the dissolution of order

Indifferent superpowers and old rivalries: The megatrend in today's Middle East is the dissolution of a regional order. An analysis by Volker PerthesMore

Global strategies for combating Islamic State: The intellectual battle against IS Islamic State (IS): A totalitarian, expansive and hegemonic project Strategies for combating IS: Plea for a wide-angled view of the Arab world The Middle East in 2014: New regional power games

Protests against Bashar al-Assad on 25 May 2012 in Daraa, Syria (photo: Reuters)

Four years of war in Syria

Where the uprising began and still lives on

The southern Syrian city of Daraa is the "cradle of the revolution" and the last bastion of the uprising against the Assad regime. Kristin Helberg on the special significance the provincial city has held since the start of the Syrian rebellion four years agoMore

Peace initiatives for Syria: Negotiate locally, implement internationally Strategies against Islamic State: The case against an alliance with Assad Syrian refugees in Lebanon: "We will perish here!"Interview with the Syrian blogger Aboud Saeed: "When the regime lost its control, I lost my fear"

The Iranian artist Golnar Tabibzadeh after the performance of "The Forgotten" (photo: Morgenland Festival Osnabruck)

Art and performance project "The Forgotten"

Focusing attention on hidden realities

Once upon a time in a land far away, there existed a storytelling tradition known as "naghali". Iranian artist Golnar Tabibzadeh was inspired by this tradition to combine art and storytelling for her project "The Forgotten", which tells some of the heart-rending personal stories behind the daily news. Marian Brehmer spoke to the artist about her project and the Iranian art sceneMore

The Syrian art project "Cutting Away the Void": Documenting the tragedy of the Syrian revolt Interview with Kinan Azmeh and Dima Orsho: "All we can do is sing and play our hearts out"Interview with the Iranian theatre director Amir Reza Kohestani: "In Iran, art fills a void"Parastou Forouhar: Art as a political weapon

A photo of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hangs on a ruined building in Al-Dukhaneya on the outskirts of Damascus (photo: Reuters/Omar Sanadiki)

Peace initiatives for Syria

Negotiate locally, implement internationally

A comprehensive solution to the Syria conflict is still a distant prospect. And "freezing" the fighting will not succeed without UN monitoring. If the suffering of the people is to be alleviated and a foundation of trust laid for negotiations, local initiatives must be implemented with international support, says Kristin HelbergMore

Strategies against Islamic State: The case against an alliance with Assad Syrian refugees in Lebanon: "We will perish here!"Civil war in Syria: Everyday life in a country destroyed The kidnapping of the "Douma 4": The Salafist and the human rights activist

Postcard from the time of the First World War showing the allies Kaiser Wilhelm II, left, Sultan Mehmed V, centre, and Kaiser Franz-Joseph, right (photo: picture-alliance)

Historical roots of the current Middle East crisis

The end of an artificial construct

After the First World War, many people hoped for a lasting order that would bring peace. The mandate system, which was supervised by the international community, was supposed to bring a new form of "benevolent" imperialism to the Middle East. However, the region is still dominated by the problems that were created at that time – more so today than ever before. By Jakob KraisMore

Syria and the Middle East: The end of the Sykes–Picot system?Germans and Ottomans in the First World War: A partnership of privilege Interview with Daniel Barenboim: "The world is suffering from a lack of leadership"

Bashar al-Assad (photo: Reuters/Syria TV)

Strategies against Islamic State

The case against an alliance with Assad

While it is certainly laudable when political leaders base foreign policy choices on ethical considerations, writes Syria expert Heiko Wimmen, the question remains whether such principled positions will hold up if the current approach of limited airstrikes fails to yield resultsMore

The Middle East in 2014: New regional power games The Syrian conflict and the fight against IS: Time to treat allies like allies Assad and Islamic State: The two faces of terror in Syria The Middle East policies of Europe and the US: Mistakes must not be repeated Syrian Human Rights Observatory

Syrian refugees in Arsal, Lebanon (photo: Jamie Itani)

Syrian refugees in Lebanon

"We will perish here!"

Fearing a terrorist attack, the Lebanese army has hermetically sealed off the town of Arsal. More than 100,000 Syrian refugees have been trapped there for months. They fear for their own security and the impact of winter. Juliane Metzker reports from ArsalMore

Syrian refugees in Turkey: Time for Turkey's allies to rally round Syrian refugee children: A lost generation in the making Photo gallery: Syrian refugee children in Lebanon The Syrian art project "Cutting Away the Void": Documenting the tragedy of the Syrian revolt Syrian refugees: Driven out of Egypt

Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) on a state visit to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran (photo: Mehr)

The Middle East in 2014

New regional power games

The rise of Islamic State in Syria and Iraq has dramatically altered the regional order. While Iran and Turkey are becoming key political players in the crisis-torn area, the West continues to lose influence. An analysis by Karim El-GawharyMore

Strategies for combating IS: Plea for a wide-angled view of the Arab world The genesis of Islamic State: A new chapter in the decline of the Arab world Iran's foreign policy in Yemen and Iraq: Arab fear of the "extended arm of Iran"Military strikes against IS: Fragile alliance The Kurds and Turkish–Iranian relations: Caught between two stools

Portrait of Lubna, Cutting Away the Void (source: Mirror Image)

The Syrian art project "Cutting Away the Void"

Documenting the tragedy of the Syrian revolt

The Syrian–British artist couple Nora and Fritz Best spent two weeks with Syrian refugees in Amman, creating a series of empathetic portraits of the refugees and recording their experiences. The resulting portraits and statements provide a touching but disturbing insight into the harrowing story of present-day SyriaMore

Nora und Fritz Best's blog entries about the "Cutting Away the Void" project Ifa exhibition: Syrian short films and videos: Somwhere between art and activism Syrian artists caught between censorship and criticism: The art of ambiguity Syrian painter and digital artist Tammam Azzam: "I, the Syrian"

Interview with the Syrian blogger Aboud Saeed

"When the regime lost its control, I lost my fear"

Aboud Saeed started his Facebook blog on the war in Syria with the words "I am the smartest guy on Facebook". Today he has the highest number of possible friends and thousands of followers. His status updates have been published and translated into several languages. Ceyda Nurtsch spoke to the Syrian bloggerMore

Independent media in Syria: Flourishing despite the violence Interview with the Syrian writer Samar Yazbek: Divided society, divided souls Interview with the Syrian artist Diala Brisly: Art is a luxury in Syria Book review: Rosa Yassin Hassan's "Guardians of the Air": Nine months of suffering, hope and fear