Syria

Five years after the start of the Arab Spring, the optimism of the disillusionment has given way. Given the never-ending violence, the return to authoritarian forms of rule or even failing states the "Arabellion" is considered a failure.

Thousands of Syrians have sought shelter in Lebanon. But having such a precarious status there and no legal recognition many feel their best option is to try entering the EU via the Mediterranean.

Lebanese bureaucracy, traumatized people, and little international support: There are numerous day-to-day problems in Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon. Majd Chourbaji helps to solve them.

Syria and the fight against ISIS is the dominating foreign policy topic in the current U.S. presidential debates. The discourse on no-fly zones and efforts to topple Bashar al-Assad show that divisions run deep and beyond party lines. 

With a backlog of more than 350,000 asylum applications, Germany is under pressure to speed up the asylum process. But efforts to quickly process Syrian refugees shortchange Afghanis and others.

As the UK debates extending into Syria, there is a striking absence of consideration for citizens. A commentary.

Moscow is now preoccupied with bringing the strategy initiated by Bashar al-Assad to perfection: After the attempt to convince western states that the only alternatives to Assad are chaos and the “Islamic State” fell through, the powers in the centre are to be weakened and to be virtually driven into the arms of the “IS”.

Prominent voices, such as former White House Coordinator for the Middle East Phil Gordon, have advocated for striving for a negotiated interim solution in Syria that defers the question of Assad’s fate. Bente Scheller, director of our office in Lebanon, addresses some of the underlying myths and arguments shaping the current debate.  

The Assad clan is exploiting the multi-religious composition of Syria and holding its minorities in a fatal grip of dependency.

Cease fires, in the current situation, can neither achieve their objectives nor lead to a political solution to the conflict in Syria.

Syrians and their supporters who continue to hope and believe in the justice of this revolution tell us that our country has never in its history done anything better than entering into this revolution.

If you cannot overthrow the tyrant, co-operate with him – after four disastrous years in Syria this seems to be the conclusion the international community has arrived at. A comment.

Assad and ISIS appear to be perfect opposites. In reality, however, they are rather complementary. Whatever aspirations one may have for a cooperation with the regime, neither an end to the war nor safety will be gained through it.

There's little hope for an improvement of the Syrian situation. Nonetheless, there are civil society activists who are still working on non-violent resistance and democratic change.

More than six million Syrian refugees are in search of a different, a safer place in their home country and yet only arrive at places that are currently slightly less ghastly.

An international conference on the situation of Syrian refugees has been arranged for 28th October in Berlin. Yet in view of the magnitude of the crisis, this is a mere drop in the ocean. Western states keep concentrating on ways to ease the symptoms of the crisis which they cannot gain control over without political underpinning.

The Heinrich Böll Foundation honors with the Petra Kelly Prize 2014 four human rights activists from the Violations Documentation Center in Syria. A laudatory for the prize winners by Petra Stienen.

With fewer reporters willing to enter the killing fields of Syria, the coverage of the conflict is dominated by ideological types, hack reporters and embeded correspondents.

How does the “Islamic State” change the perception of the conflict in Syria? An overview of recent developments and power constellations in the region.

ISIS lives off bare bestiality. While their opponents are paralyzed with fear, the work of satirists flourishes. Meanwhile Bashar al-Assad tries to present himself as the lesser evil in Syria.