[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Syria and reflects a wide variety of
opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Syria Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to syria@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every week.]
Regional and International Perspectives
Syrian Civil Society Takes Root in Lebanon The Damascus Bureau says the ”community can be divided into roughly two parts: those organizations that seek to enact change inside Syria, and other organizations that provide relief to Syrian refugees”
Russia Considers Saudi Angle in Syria Fyodor Lukyanov says “The hopes that Russia will at some point change its course are groundless. If Russia did not do so when everybody expected Assad to collapse, why would it now?”
Kurdish Rebel Group in Turkey Re-Focuses on Syria Amberin Zaman on new developments following a statement announcing PKK Chairman Murat Karayilan’s replacement with Cemil Bayik and female militant Bese Hozat.
A Falling Out Among Brothers? Raphael Lefevre on the tensions amongst the various branches of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Bandar, The Prince of Jihad: Expect a Shift in Power Hassan Illeik writes a profile on the Saudi intelligence chief, and outlines his “unrealistic expectations” for Syria.
Washington’s Syria Policy: A Repeat of Afghanistan? Ardan Zenturk argues that, “without a doubt, the American-Saudi plan is dragging Turkey into the position Pakistan found itself during the Afghan war.”
The Nuclear File and Syria: Rohani’s Impossible Mission The Syrian Observer translates this al-Hayat article by George Semaan, where in suggests that the Iranian government will need to be more proactive regarding the Syria crisis as it is taking a toll on Iranians domestically.
Syrian Narratives
What Happens Next For Syria? A BBC summary and mapping of the major developments in Syria.
War Splits Syria Into Three Distinct Regions Zeina Karam notes how “the once highly centralized authoritarian state has effectively split into three distinct parts, each boasting its own flags, security agencies and judicial system.”
Syria: Losing the Narrative Frederic Hof argues says “what we are witnessing is the apparent victory of the Assad regime in a one-sided war of narratives over the struggle for Syria: the marriage of relentless regime propaganda about the nature of the struggle with a made-in-America, no-can-do attitude, instructed in large measure by long, largely unsatisfactory wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Why No Revolution Exists in Syria Shamus Cooke attempts to define the word revolution to show that it does not apply to the crisis in Syria, by precising that “this is not to say that LCC’s do not exist, but like the neighborhood militias, their relevance has been greatly exaggerated in an attempt to define the Syrian situation as revolutionary and thus grant it a status of ‘unconditional support.’”
Michel Kilo and the Promise of the Seven Years in Syria Haitham Haqqi summarizes the major points of Kilo’s July 15 interview with Al Jazeera Arabic.
Support for rebels will help push Syrians away from extremists Hussein Ibish, of the American Task Force on Palestine, argues that the reason why extremist dominate in Syria is because they have received more resources than other groups.
A Fearful Ramadan for Syrian Civilians On how the dwindling economy is affection the celebration for even the most well-off in Syria.
Syrian Regime Change a-la Carte Following U.S. General Martin Dempsey’s outline of options for military action in Syria, Jason Hirthler asks “ Is funneling cash, weapons, and intelligence to mercenary forces in an effort to unseat a sovereign government not itself an act of war?”
Are We Witnessing a Kurdish Spring in Syria Following the hype surrounding Syrian Kurdistan’s unique “opportunity” for self-determination, Namo Abdulla interviews Harold Rhode and Velma Anna Ruth, who discuss the future of Kurds in Syria, considering the alliances being created during the conflict in and outside the country.
Who’s Who: The Trinity of Jihad in Syria Rita from Syria compares and contrasts various fighting groups in Syria, namely the FSA, Jabhat al-Nusra and al Dawla, suggesting that outright military confrontations might be to come.
Jean-Pierre Filiu, Specialiste du Moyent-Orient, de Retour d’Alep Jean-Pierre Filiu on the dynamics in Aleppo, namely the social divisions that remain as well as the general anger against the extremist groups.
Damascus: What’s Left On a recent visit to a few dozen central neighborhoods of Damascus, Sarah Birke noticed that, though the regime was “far from on its last legs,” life in the capital has radically changed and is becoming increasingly uncertain for most.
Our Revolution: A popular revolution for freedom, equality and social justice and against every kind of absolutism The Salamyah branch of the Revolutionary Left Current in Syria issues this statement, reiterating its committment to the tenets of the revolution.
Syria Consolidates into Three Cantons as the Opposition Pushes Back, Taking Mengh Airbase and other
Strategic Points Joshua Landis mentions those developments in his weekly summary of events. He cites Aron Lund who is against the idea that the events could represent any sort of national momentum, as, according to him, fighting remains highly localized.
Now or Never for the Opposition Frederic Hof’s two cents about what the Syrian Opposition Coalition needs to do as it attempts to gain legitimacy in Syria.
Inside Syria
Back Razan Ghazzawi has been living in a Syrian village for the past four months, and here she shares her scattered thoughts and feeling of estrangement, as the only unveiled female living by herself among male revolutionaries.
Breaking the Silence in the Palestinian Camps The organizers from the Palestinian Camps News Network Union, “who come from all 13 refugee camps in Syria, hope to change the reality on the ground, and push forward nine goals”
Former al-Nusra Front emir returns to civilian life Doha Hassan says the story of Hussein “is living proof of a man who lived through all stages of the revolution, from peaceful slogans to a black turban, and to eventually resuming his civilian life.”
Syria’s Northern Border Open to Smugglers for the Right Price In Latakia, Zainab Bahjat reports on the new smuggling market which now smuggles people and arms.
Deir Ezzor: Champ de RuinesLiberation’s photo essay on a city that is transforming rapidly yet that has remained relatively neglected by mainstream media.
Abandoned Amongst the Olive Groves of Idlib John Wreford documents his visit to Atmeh refugee camp, through words and photography.
The Syrian Letters: Aleppo, The Forgotten City Faysal writes a letter to his relatives in Europe, detailing the impacts of the war in Aleppo, including the division of the city into two and the skyrocketing inflation rates.
Syria Rebel 'Moles' Wage Battle From Underground Tunnels On the emergence of underground tunnels and their role in the war.
A City Family’s Life in Wartime Syria Rania Abouzeid reports on the daily life of a family in Saraqeb, a city at the crossroads of two national highways that continues to be hardly hit by the fighting.
I Ate Ice Cream With a Member of al-Qaeda in Syria Hannah Lucinda Smith meets with a foreign fighter fighting for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) group, an opportunity she sees as the group’s attempt to change its image problem.
Arts and Social Media
Dr. Qasem Bidayyat’s Amal Salloum made this short film about a Syrian doctor, former director of Quseir state hospital.
A Rant for Syria A poignant stream of consciousness by Maysaloon.
Viva La Zaatar Croissant A Syrian foodie exposes the croissant prank in further detail, mocking mainstream media who quickly jumped on the bandwagon and took the news seriously.
Syria Conflict Monitor Tracks the Islamist Trend A piece on this website started in January 2012 tracking down different fighting groups in Syria to create a dataset for conflict visualization purposes.
Why Fewer Ground Reports Are Emerging From Syria Tom A. Peter on the difficulty of reporting in Syria.
New Images Show Destruction In Syrian City Of Aleppo
Policy and Reports
Ballistic Missiles Killing Civilians, Many Children Human Rights Watch investigates nine of those attacks.
Lebanon: Palestinians Fleeing Syria Denied Entry A Human Rights Watch update.
Economy and Agriculture
A Bittersweet Opportunity On Syrians opening up shop in Jordan
Syrians Have Become Obsessed With Dollars Sam Dagher writes that “prices of many goods have at least tripled compared to one year ago.”
Syria’s Assad Bans Foreign Currency Transactions To make matters worse, the president has allegedly issued a decree that bans the use of foreign currency in commercial transactions.
Arabic
برنامج في المحور| مع البروفيسور ناصر رباط
Interview with Professor Nasser Rabat, a history professor at MIT, about the history of Syria and it's society's "sectarian mosaic."
A dialogue with Professor Gilbert Achcar on the situation in the Middle East.
Mohammad Dibo argues that tyrannical regimes have always relied on more than just violence in order to gain legitimacy while wondering whether the regime will be able to regain its "legitimacy" by depending on foreign powers rather than local ones.
من خان العسل إلى الجيش في عيده
Allam Ahmad on Bashar's speech on the anniversary of the national army and the future of Syria.
Fateh Jamous on Syrian geopolitics and the country's strategic importance.
هل توقف زيارة لموسكو القتال في سوريا أم تغذيه؟
Sami Kleib on Saudi Arabia and its politics towards Syria today.
انسداد الثورات و البحث عن "المنقذ الوحيد"
Mohammad Sayyed Rasas on the outcome of the division of revolutionary powers and the impasse in revolutionary movements.
الدراسة في جامعة حلب ضحية الحرب
Under the pseudonym Lina Al-Hakim, a Syrian journalist writes about the situation of students in the
University of Aleppo.
تجليات الأزمة السورية و الفرصة الأخيرة
Bassam Al-Aisami of the executive board in the Syrian National Coordination Body writes about the development in the Syrian struggle and the "last chance" for a solution.
سوق الحرامية: سريالية الحياة في سوريا
Mariam Abdallah on the thieves market in Damascus in Syria today.
Brahim el Guabli analyzes the slogan "we die and the nation lives on."