Al Majalla | The Leading Arab Magazine

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The Struggle for Syria

2024 in Review

Articles on Politics, Culture and Economy

US Elections 2024

Trump's 2024 Election win

A man waves Palestinian flags as Palestinians react to the news on a ceasefire deal with Israel, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, January 15, 2025.

REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

Politics

Will a ceasefire bring Palestinians closer to statehood dream?

As Biden and Trump quibble over credit for Gaza ceasefire, it is the latter who will take up the presidential mantle in a few days. Pining over a Nobel Prize, he could push for a more lasting peace.

Con Coughlin

Sara Padovan

Business & Economy

US grabs Russia’s European gas share as others lack capacity

As Ukraine pulls the plug on a major route for Russian gas into Europe, Türkiye and America stand to gain, but where does that leave Arab suppliers and Europe's consumer states?

Maher Chmaytelli

A TikTok influencer holds a sign that reads "Keep TikTok" outside the US Supreme Court as it hears oral arguments on whether to overturn or delay a law that could lead to a ban of TikTok in the US on January 10, 2024.

Kayla Bartkowski / AFP

SPECIAL COVERAGE

TikTok awaits its fate

Science & Technology

What to know about the popular social media app's US ban

Rishi Iyengar

TikTok: The most popular social media app in the US

The American crusade against TikTok

The TikTok war is about more than technology

Let that sink in! Elon Musk realises the Silicon Valley dream

Israel is behind America's crusade against TikTok

Is TikTok a real threat or a false pretext?

Latest

Politics

Armed Kurds next door? Syria's new leaders know Türkiye's red line

Omer Onhon

Politics

Politics

Joe Biden’s final foreign-policy report card

Stephen M. Walt

Politics

In seeking to build a new army, Syria’s leader may build a cult

Ahmed Maher

Editor's Pick

Palestinians react to the news on a ceasefire deal with Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, January 15, 2025.

REUTERS/Hatem Khaled

Politics

One question looms over Israel-Hamas truce deal: Why now?

15 January 2025

Biden has been pushing for a deal for more than a year with no success until now. Is Trump the reason?

Daniel Byman

Dr Maysa Sabrin, Syria's newly-appointed central bank governor

Axel Rangel Garcia

Business & Economy

Syria becomes first Arab state with woman central bank chief

16 January 2025

Maysa Sabrin joins illustrious figures such as Russia's Elvira Nabiullina, Europe's Christine Lagarde, and America's Janet Yellen, proving women heading central banks is no longer a rarity

Toufic Chanbour

US President Joe Biden pulls a note card from his pocket as he speaks from the Treaty Room in the White House about the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan on April 14, 2021, in Washington, DC.

AFP

Politics

Joe Biden’s final foreign-policy report card

15 January 2025

It didn't have to be this way, but Biden's foreign-policy legacy will be a world that is less rule-bound, less prosperous, and significantly more dangerous

Stephen M. Walt

Opinion

My emotional trip back to Damascus

13 January 2025

Like many, I was unprepared for the torrent of emotions that gripped me on my first visit to Damascus after 13 years. These are my observations, reflections and reasons for cautious optimism.

Ibrahim Hamidi

Axel Rangel Garcia

Culture & Social Affairs

Ali Makki on balancing Saudi culture with its modern aspirations

15 January 2025

In an interview with Al Majalla, the Saudi journalist explains how his country is advancing without compromising its values and that younger and older generations each have an important role to play

Wael Said

OPINION

With Aoun and Salam, Lebanese can now dare to dream

Houssam Itani

Is North Korea starting to regret its Ukraine war gambit?

Con Coughlin

My emotional trip back to Damascus

Ibrahim Hamidi

The promise and peril of Syria’s National Dialogue conference

Haid Haid

Infographics

Will Canada fall prey to Trump's ambitions?

Diana Estefanía Rubio

Profile

Joseph Aoun: Lebanon's fifth army general-turned-president

At the 13th time of asking, Lebanon’s parliament finally elected a president this month: General Joseph Aoun. At 61, he has been Commander of the…

Mohamad Rammal

Justin Trudeau: Canada's long-serving Liberal PM bids adieu

The recent resignation of Justin Trudeau as Canada’s prime minister is a landmark moment not just for his country but for world liberalism, of which…

Abdulfattah Khattab

Kaja Kallas of Estonia has been appointed Europe's foreign policy chief

Kaja Kallas: Estonian firebrand becomes Europe’s top diplomat

At a time when there is a pressing need for the West to demonstrate more resolve in defending its interests, the appointment of former Estonian Prime…

Con Coughlin

Olaf Scholz: The German chancellor on life support

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s term in office looks set to end after his government lost a historic vote of confidence in the German parliament,…

Con Coughlin

Politics

Will a ceasefire bring Palestinians closer to statehood dream?

With both US President Joe Biden and incoming President Donald Trump claiming credit for negotiating the Gaza ceasefire deal, the bigger question is…

Con Coughlin

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan meets with Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, January 15, 2025.

Armed Kurds next door? Syria's new leaders know Türkiye's red line

A senior Syrian ministerial delegation has visited Türkiye for meetings with their counterparts in Ankara in the latest demonstration of links…

Omer Onhon

One question looms over Israel-Hamas truce deal: Why now?

The war in Gaza appears to be over, or at least paused, for now. A ceasefire announcement expected later today, according to US officials, will…

Daniel Byman

Joe Biden’s final foreign-policy report card

I voted for US President Joe Biden in 2020, and as readers here know, I supported Vice President Kamala Harris last November despite my misgivings…

Stephen M. Walt

Documents & Memoirs

The political history of the Alawites in pre-Baath Syria

27 Dec 2024

There is a huge misconception that Syria's Alawite community was a major benefactor of the Assad regime. But nothing is further from the truth. Al Majalla explains.

Sami Moubayed

READ FULL ARTICLE

Documents & Memoirs

From Barakat to Assad: The Syrian presidency in 100 years

16 December 2024

Al Majalla lays out the long and often chaotic array of leaders, military coups, and governing systems that Syria has gone through in the past century

Sami Moubayed

A Syrian woman holds a picture of President Bashar al-Assad as other protestors fly Palestinian and Syrian flags during a demonstration to mark Land Day in Damascus on March 30, 2012.

LOUAI BESHARA / AFP

Documents & Memoirs

The Assads were phony champions of the Palestinian cause

14 December 2024

In its public statements, the Syrian government has long supported the Palestinian cause. In reality, the Assads sought to stymie the PLO, whose famous leader, Yasser Arafat, never trusted Damascus.

Majed Kayali

culture & social affairs

Al Majalla's Book Watch

16 January 2025

A tour of the latest releases from Arabic publishing houses on topics covering fiction, philosophy, science, history, and politics.

Khodr Al Agha

Axel Rangel Garcia

Culture & Social Affairs

Ali Makki on balancing Saudi culture with its modern aspirations

In an interview with Al Majalla, the Saudi journalist explains how his country is advancing without compromising its values and that younger and older generations each have an important role to play

Wael Said

Aliaa Abou Khaddour

Culture & Social Affairs

Syrian women's century-long fight for sociopolitical change

During the French Mandate, Syria's women's movement went from grassroots protest to established force, setting up schools, helping the poor, and calling for rights and votes

Sawsan Jamil Hasan

Semaine de la Critique Cannes

Film on taboo-breaking theatre troupe lands Egypt first Cannes win

Egyptian cinema had a big moment in 2024 when the…

Areej Jamal

CARTOON

VIDEOS

30:44

Al Majalla interviews UN's Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen

Science & Technology

TikTok awaits its fate

What to know about the popular social media app's US ban

Rishi Iyengar

Can technology save a world hurtling toward disorder?

It's the exact wrong moment in history for nations to stop cooperating—but AI might yet help us

Michael Hirsh

shutterstock

Let that sink in! Elon Musk realises the Silicon Valley dream

There are signs that Trump wants his favourite tech billionaire to be as ruthless with the institutions of the American state as he was with Twitter

Bryn Haworth

Alexandra España

AI Journey – A Journey Into the World of People

One important focus area in this year's event is the use of artificial intelligence in applied fields to boost consumer demand and profit

Promoted Content

Business & Economy

US grabs Russia’s European gas share as others lack capacity

As Ukraine pulls the plug on a major route for Russian gas into Europe, Türkiye and America stand to gain, but where does that leave Arab suppliers and Europe's consumer states?

Maher Chmaytelli

Syria becomes first Arab state with woman central bank chief

Maysa Sabrin joins illustrious figures such as Russia's Elvira Nabiullina, Europe's Christine Lagarde, and America's Janet Yellen, proving women heading central banks is no longer a rarity

Toufic Chanbour

Axel Rangel Garcia

A new Syria gives Lebanon a chance to reevaluate past deals

Many agreements were one-sided in favour of Damascus, with some never ratified, implemented or even known about at all. Calls are now mounting to rebalance the relationship.

Salwa Baalbaki