[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
EU to Allow Purchases of Syria Oil From Opposition
Faltering Role of Tribal Leaders Tested By Oil-Related Disputes in Deir Ezzor (Part III) Hassan Hassan explains how there remains much dispute over the control of this oil among the opposition.
Palestinians From Syria: Living a “Double Joke” in Lebanon
Syria: Jordan to Sparhead Saudi Arabian Arms DriveMartin Chulov and Ian Black say Jordan changed “from a policy of trying to contain the spillover threat posed by the civil war across its border to one of actively aiming to end it before it engulfs the cash-strapped kingdom.”
Welcome to the Islamic State of SyriaBrian Fishman says “so long as Jabhat al-Nusra remains the most powerful rebel group on the ground, Syria cannot even begin the hard work of rebuilding.”
Syria’s Conflict is Rich Fodder for Anti-Islamist Propaganda Hassan Hassan says “as elsewhere in the region, the opposition in Tunisia is increasingly using the Syrian uprising to settle scores at home. “
Syrian Narratives
The Syrian Heartbreak Peter Harling and Sarah Birke write: “Syrians have lost much in the conflict they are now locked into, with no way back and little sign of a way forward, either for supporters of President Bashar al-Asad or for the assorted opposition forces.”
Syrian Opposition Books Begin Rewriting History in TextbooksRaja Abdulrahim takes a look at books distributed in Turkish refugee camps, which challenge the narrative used in Syrian books over the last forty years.
Scenarios for a Post-Crisis SyriaHosam Matar outlines possible scenarios for Syria.
A Sunni-Shiite Showdown in Syria ?Dale Gavlak claims that “the conflict is exacerbating regional sectarian tensions,” with both sides supported by different groups in the region.
Will the Muslim Brotherhood Rule SyriaHassan Hassan argues that “the group’s policy is to buy loyalties and create a sense, for outsiders and the opposition, that it represents a large percentage of Syrians.”
The Boy Who Helped Spark a RevolutionA BBC report reminiscing about the more optimistic stages of the uprising.
Are We Seeing Bashar al-Assad’s Second Wind? Stephen Starr on developments in Syria and the “stubborn” resistance of the regime.
Syria’s Women: Sidelined in Opposition Politics?Kinda Kanbar and Omar Hossino take a look at the ostracization of women in opposition politics.
What is a Proxy War?Using the example of the Spanish Civil War, Darth Nader argues that what is happening in Syria is a revolution, a civil war and a proxy war all at once.
Jabhat al-Nusra, Ghassan Hitto Divide Syrian OppositionMohammad Balout writes about Jabhat al-Nusra and its relationship with various elements of the opposition inside and outside Syria.
Condemnation of Zawahri’s Statement Regarding his Intervention in the Internal Affairs of SyriaThe Local Coordination Committees distance themselves from the statement and are opposed to this foreign interference.
Battle for Damascus: Regime Fights on Four Fronts Nasser Charara explains the measures the regime has taken in preparation for a “major confrontation to gain the upper hand ahead of a US-Russia summit in June.”
Is Syria Moving Toward Partition? Jean Aziz says some conversations on the sides of both the regime and the opposition suggest the country might eventually be re-divided.
“La Syrie Est Trop Forte Pour Etre Divisee”Ignace Leverrier suggests that the partition narrative, embraced by the regime, and some elements of the opposition, is not supported by many Syrians who constantly take to the street to say that Syria would remain undivided.
Syria’s Six Simultaneous Conflicts Rami Khouri says the conflict in Syria is “a domestic citizen revolt”, an “Arab cold war”, “the old Iranian-Arab rivalry”,” a Cold War between the United States and Russia”, a tension between a centralized state and fragmentations along ethnic and tribal lines and a conflict between oppositions.
The Alliance of Media and Humanitarianism in LebanonEstella Carpi says “the media, while providing positive accounts in an alleged bid to pacify further social frictions, paradoxically rely on ethnicised desciptions – in this specific case, Lebanese versus Syrians.”
Inside Syria
Syrian Activist Communities, the Battle InsideRita from Syria writes a fascinating piece on the different types of activists for Syria and how they are perceived by the others.
Life and Death in Damascus’ Shrinking Security Square The Syrian conflict is becoming a reality also for those living in the city center.
Syria Deeply Asks: What is the Security Situation Now in Damascus?Some contend that a battle in Damascus is still far away, but that the regimes and rebels are already engaged in a fierce battle on its outskirts.
Losing Faith in the West, Finding it in Islam – The New Face of Syria’s Civil War Olly Lambert explains the process of radicalization that some groups undergo in Syria.
Why So Many Syrians Wish for RainOn the hardships endured by Syrians in Aleppo.
How a Ballistic Missile Wiped Out Two Families in Rural AleppoMohammed Sergie puts a face on the tragedy of the ballistic missile attacks that occurred in Hreitan.
Northern Syria’s Kurds Struggle To Deal with InfluxOn the internal displacement of Kurdish populations, here from Aleppo to Afrin.
Poison Gas Kills a Family, in Apparent Chemical Weapons AttackMohamed Sergie and Karen Leigh interview a doctor who said “patients exhibited hyper-salivation, increased secretions, eye pain, muscle spasms and seizures, and loss of consciousness.”
Behind the Lens: Crossing the Orontes, Come Hell or High WaterBradley Secker, on the role of this river in the uprising.
Arts and Social Media
Syria: The ReckoningSouhaib Abu Doulah’s that contains “interviews with Syrian analysts, political figures and former army officers, intercut with archive, tell the story of Hafez al-Assad's iron rule and his suppression of religious revivalism and popular will in the past.”
Syria’s Lost GenerationA National Geographic photo essay focusing on children affected by the war across the country and beyond.
One on One: PBS Frontline Documentarist Olly Lamberton his most recent film on Syria revealing the deep antagonism that emerged within one village as a result of the war.
Policy and Reports
Palestinian Refugees From Syria in LebanonA report published by ANERA
Arabic
زياد الرحباني vs طائةفة المثقفين
Khudr Salameh on the "narcissistic mentality" of some of the Syrian opposition elite, which is exacerbated by social media tools, and evident in their campaign against Ziad Rahbani and his "ambiguous stance" towards the events in Syria.
Hassan Abbas writes about the system of power sharing under tyrannical regimes, and the likelihood of its reproduction after the downfall of those regimes.
نزعة الاستعانة بالأجنبي غي المعارضات العربية
Mohammad Sayyed Rasas traces the Arab oppositions' call for foreign assistance in history and recently.
Tarek Azizeh on the Syrian independence from French colonialism, national unity and the threat of partition after the current crisis.
بين هيتو و الحلقي: مظلة خارجية و مظلة أمنية
Mohammad Dibo on the National Coalition, the appointment of Hitto as prime minister of the interim government, and the reproduction of the Assad regime.
عن الانفجارات داخل المربعات الأمنية
Fayez Sarrah on the explosions in the security squares in Damascus.
Abdel Bari Atwan analyses Bashar Al-Assad's press-conference that was held in the occasion of the Jalaa celebration.
Abdel Bari Atwan on the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria.
عن قطر و "قمة الخمس دقائق " و "اللامنطق" داخل الجامعة العربية
Ruba AlHusseini on the Arab Summit that was held in Qatar.
"الأم الشجاعة": خطاب أسماء الأسد في عيد الأم
Golan Haji on the depiction of Asma Al-Assad in the video entitled "With Your Soul You Protect the Jasmine."