Politics | Al Majalla

Syria after Assad: reclaiming a national identity lost to regional overreach

The Assads bound Syria to regional power plays far beyond its means. As the country embarks on a new path, hollow rhetoric must be replaced with a vision grounded in freedom, equality, and sovereignty

Majed Kayali 19 November 2025

A member of the former rebel group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham stands guard near an image of Syria's Bashar al-Assad at the fourth division headquarters in Damascus, Syria, January 23, 2025.

REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar

During the reigns of Abdulaziz bin Muhammad and Saud bin Abdulaziz, Diriyah became the most important city the Arab world, second only to the two Holy Mosques

Nash Weerasekera

Diriyah: The capital of the first Saudi state

During the reigns of Abdulaziz bin Muhammad and Saud bin Abdulaziz, Diriyah became the most important city the Arab world, second only to Mecca

Abdullah Al-Rashid 22 February 2023

More than 500 high-level international decision-makers meet at the 59th Munich Security Conference in Munich during their annual meeting from 17 to 19 February 2023 to discuss global security issues.

EPA

Absence of Russia and Iran from Munich Security Conference casts shadow over talks

Dialogue focused on the issue of global polarisation — a phenomenon exacerbated by Russian President Vladmir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine in February 2022

Houssam Itani 22 February 2023

Diplomat and former Lebanese Minister of Culture Ghassan Salame poses for a photo session at the Palais Brongniart during the fifth edition of the Paris Peace Forum, on November 12, 2022.

Getty Images

Ghassan Salamé: The Arab world is on the verge of tremendous change

Speaking to Al Majalla, the statesman warns against the 'institutionalisation' of regional interventions at a pivotal time for the Middle East

Ibrahim Hamidi 22 February 2023

In the Turkish province of Antakya, a devastating earthquake has not only crushed bones, but also the hearts and spirits of its residents.

Eduardo Ramon

No homes for the living, no graves for the dead

In the Turkish province of Antakya, a devastating earthquake has not only crushed bones, but also the hearts and spirits of its residents

Bissane El-Cheickh 21 February 2023

Getty Images

Ghassan Salamé: The birth pangs of a new world order

There are many reasons to believe that prevailing global order has ended, and we are in the throes of new world order, but it is difficult to predict what this new order will look like, says Salamé

Ibrahim Hamidi 20 February 2023

There are many reasons to believe that prevailing global geopolitical conditions have ended, and we are in the throes of new world order, but it is difficult to predict what this new order will look like, says Salamé.

AFP

Ghassan Salamé: Ukraine war signals 'labour pains' of new world order

There are many reasons to believe that prevailing geopolitical conditions have ended, and we are in the throes of new world order, but it is difficult to predict what this new order will look like.

Ibrahim Hamidi 20 February 2023

Iranian Shiite pilgrim show cards baring pictures of slain Iranian and Iraqi commanders, respectively Qasem Soleimani (R) and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

AFP

Despite domestic protests, Iranian influence still looms large in Iraq

Many Iraqis in Karbala feel that they owe Iran for their help in fighting the Islamic State

Shelly Kittleson 15 February 2023

The first recorded earthquake struck Antioch in 115 AD, and the city was said to have been completely flattened, killing 260,000 people.

Andrei Cojocaru

Northern Syria’s sad history of devastating earthquakes

The first recorded earthquake struck Antioch in 115 AD, and the city was said to have been completely flattened, killing 260,000 people

Diana Darke 10 February 2023

People stand among the rubble of collapsed buildings in Kahramanmaras, on February 9, 2023, three days after a 7,8-magnitude earthquake struck southeast Turkey.

Getty Images

"It is catastrophic, and the United Nations is complicit"

Head of Syrian Civil Defence Raed Saleh says what is needed now is fuel to power the equipment to remove the rubble and recover the bodies

Al Majalla - London 09 February 2023

Iranians walk past Shahab-2 (L) and Shahab-3 missiles on display in front of a large portrait of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a square in south Tehran on September 28, 2008.

Getty Images

Iran's push for an empire reveals the dark reality of its ruthless ambitions

Iran's meddling in regional states has brought nothing but poverty and global isolation to the Iranian people

Houssam Itani 09 February 2023

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US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pose for a picture at the White House in Washington, DC, US on 18 November 2025.

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Saudi Arabia, the US, and the renewal of partnership

17 November 2025

Trump elevates Saudi Arabia to 'major non-NATO ally' status, just hours after the Saudi crown prince announced he would increase his investments in the US to nearly $1tn.

Al Majalla - London

Sara Padovan

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Is support for Israel becoming toxic at the ballot box?

11 November 2025

As Americans rethink the moral—and strategic—calculus of US support for Israel, politicians are scrambling to keep pace

Alfred J. Naddaff

This handout photograph released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on 10 November 2025, shows US President Donald Trump (L) shaking hands with Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House in Washington DC.

SANA / AFP

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Syria-US rapprochement sees cooperation surge

13 November 2025

Since Trump began lifting sanctions in May, no time has been wasted. US investment delegations have been flocking to Damascus, and security cooperation has already started.

Charles Lister

Al Majalla

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From oil to AI: a century of Saudi-US partnership

17 November 2025

The Saudi-US alliance is entering a new phase—one characterised by maturity, equilibrium, and a shared vision attuned to a world increasingly shaped by technology

Omar Harkous

Lina Jaradat

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Israel's Olive War aims to uproot more than just trees

09 November 2025

The olive tree is no longer just a source of sustenance for West Bank Palestinians, but a silent witness to their profound struggle between permanence and erasure

Mohammed Najib

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LATEST ISSUE

Syria after Assad: reclaiming a national identity lost to regional overreach

Diriyah: The capital of the first Saudi state

Absence of Russia and Iran from Munich Security Conference casts shadow over talks

Ghassan Salamé: The Arab world is on the verge of tremendous change

No homes for the living, no graves for the dead

Ghassan Salamé: The birth pangs of a new world order

Ghassan Salamé: Ukraine war signals 'labour pains' of new world order

Despite domestic protests, Iranian influence still looms large in Iraq

Northern Syria’s sad history of devastating earthquakes

"It is catastrophic, and the United Nations is complicit"

Iran's push for an empire reveals the dark reality of its ruthless ambitions

Saudi Arabia, the US, and the renewal of partnership

Is support for Israel becoming toxic at the ballot box?

Syria-US rapprochement sees cooperation surge

From oil to AI: a century of Saudi-US partnership

Israel's Olive War aims to uproot more than just trees

OPINIONS

The silver lining to lower oil prices for Gulf states

Syria: from darkness to light in 11 historic months

Renewing the Saudi-US partnership

Born too soon: our responsibility on World Prematurity Day

CARTOON

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