In areas like Daraa and Sweida, local groups are elbowing their way into some of the smuggling voids left by Assad's army and pro-Iranian groups like Hezbollah. That means more to fight over.
Damascus is getting help from abroad, but it needs to set its economic stall out with a plan to rebuild its economy. An organised and disciplined fiscal and monetary policy will keep bankruptcy at bay
Damascus fell into a trap when it sent its troops racing south as fighting erupted between Druze and Bedouins. Why? Because in Israel's arc of fragmentation, Syria is the last piece of the puzzle.
For more than a century, Druze soldiers and politicians have made their mark on today's Syria. They are still writing their own history, as the recent Sweida violence shows.
The guns may have fallen silent but in Syria's Druze-dominated southern city, they have enforced the status quo. That is dangerous, since it fails to recognise that Syria has now fundamentally changed
The second instalment of a two-part investigation into the unprecedented looting of Syria's archaeological sites, Al Majalla uncovers the destruction of a rich archaeological landscape
Al Majalla spoke to a seasoned diplomat who helped shape American policy on the Middle East during Joe Biden's presidency, asking her about Syria, US engagement, Iran, and Palestine.
The first instalment of a two-part investigation into the unprecedented looting of Syria's archaeological sites, Al Majalla uncovers the destruction of a rich archaeological landscape
As support for Israel weakens across the US political spectrum, once-taboo questions about military aid, lobbying influence, and US backing are moving into the mainstream
Algeria is one of Africa's largest producers of hydrocarbons, and its proximity to customers in Europe makes it of growing interest as importers fret over a prolonged supply crisis from countries
Through extravagant processions led by palace women, the Mamluk state projected a message of power and prestige at home and abroad, turning the Hajj obligation into a soft-power tool