Middle East
![Cemil Bayik, co-chair of the KCK Executive Council](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_medium/public/2025-01/cemil-bayik-kck-768x512.jpg?itok=6OiTZabU)
‘Kurdistan is where the fate of the Middle East will be determined’: An interview with Cemil Bayik
Cemil Bayik discusses the current process regarding the solution of the Kurdish question and its connection to the ‘Third World War’ raging in the Middle East region.
![Asef Bayat](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_medium/public/2025-01/Web-85.png?itok=lYjj2Kjs)
Syria’s ‘delayed revolution’: An interview with Asef Bayat
Asef Bayat — The recent developments in Syria represent a new form of political change, the characteristics of which we will better understand in the future. But there is no doubt that these events are part of the Arab Spring.
![Gaza destruction picture](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_medium/public/2025-01/JELBAIR-2-730x438.jpg?itok=3GpTrE8W)
Two myths about the Gaza ceasefire
Gilbert Achcar — There are two conspicuous myths about the Gaza ceasefire.
![A Syrian family celebrates the fall of the regime in Umayyad Square in Damascus](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_medium/public/2025-01/AFP__20250104__alsayed-notitle250103_npbPy__v1__Preview__SyriansCelebrateVictoryOver-750x430-1-750x430.jpeg?itok=HIBaPBlz)
The Turkish Syria vs the new Syria
Tariq Hemo — Turkey is seeking to assert its influence in Syria while sidelining other powers and ignoring the people’s aspirations for a more inclusive and democratic state.
![The militia leader Ahmed al-Jolani chose the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus as a highly symbolic stage for his first speech as the new Syrian ruler, 9 December 2024.Photo: IMAGO / ABACAPRESS](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_medium/public/2025-01/Screenshot%202025-01-16%20183008.png?itok=fRzmjDBO)
Al-Jolani, HTS and the future of Syria
René Wildangel takes a look at who exactly are the Islamists that drove Syrian dictator Assad from the country.
![Lebanon](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_medium/public/2025-01/JELBAIR-1-730x438.jpg?itok=9yJLCtqV)
After five days that changed its face, where is Lebanon headed?
Gilbert Achcar — The events in Lebanon between the election of a new president on January 9 and the appointment of a new prime minister on January 13 constitute a major upheaval in the country’s political situation.
![PA in West Bank](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_medium/public/2025-01/JELBAIR-730x438.jpg?itok=GuwtGEUS)
The Palestinian Authority and the completion of the siege
Gilbert Achcar — Since the completion of the first year of the ongoing Zionist genocidal war on Gaza, a shameful scene has been taking place before our eyes in the West Bank.
![Syrian's celebrating](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_medium/public/2025-01/6757421623495.jpeg?itok=YmJ838p4)
Syria, geopolitics and the left
Santiago Alba Rico — The role and bias of this geopolitical obsession becomes very clear as soon as one compares the different attitudes toward Palestine and Syria.
![Air bases, weapons and defense systems, and intelligence and military buildings belonging to the former Syrian regime being destroyed.](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_medium/public/2025-01/image-5.png?itok=RVIuuMFf)
Israel’s massive attack on free Syria: Background and motivations
Michael Karadjis — From the moment the Assad regime collapsed and the rebels entered Damascus, Israel’s massive land and air attack began.
![Free Syria protest](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_medium/public/2025-01/Screenshot%202025-01-04%20at%205.05.29%E2%80%AFPM.png?itok=RvYy7xOE)
‘There is now a space to try to rebuild popular civil resistance’: An interview with Joseph Daher
Joseph Daher — Syria's future will depend on the ability of democratic and progressive groups to organise themselves in the face of both internal and external threats.
![Supporters of incumbent Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi celebrate in Cairo after his most recent landslide electoral victory, 18 December 2023.](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_medium/public/2024-12/Screenshot%202024-12-12%20212610.png?itok=K0rDPAuf)
Egypt: Sisi’s weakness makes him more brutal
Robert Springborg on how the Egyptian dictator secures his violent rule.
![Salih Muslim](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_medium/public/2024-12/SalIh-Muslim-1140x570.jpg?itok=ajaP-juo)
Salih Muslim: The Kurdish perspective on Syria’s future
Salih Muslim outlines the challenges facing Syria after the regime’s collapse, emphasising the importance of addressing the Kurdish issue for a democratic and stable Middle East.