Hezbollah has deployed thousands of medical professionals across Lebanon to help the Ministry of Health fight the spread of the coronavirus. The effort is a shrewd one, helping soften the divisive party’s image among its rivals and position it for increased political control over the country. To most Lebanese, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a […]
As Turkish Currency Returns, Syria Relives a Tumultuous History
The Syrian lira seems to be in a freefall, dropping to around 3,000 to the U.S. dollar, compared to 50 a dollar 10 years ago. This dramatic depreciation of the currency, unprecedented in the country’s history, is causing prices to soar tenfold. As a result, opposition-held parts of the Syrian northwest have started to switch […]
Russia, Turkey and the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood
Numerous factors have put Syria’s constitutional talks on hold. Foremost is the COVID-19 pandemic, which makes it impossible to bring some 150 negotiators into one room anymore. But even without this global crisis, deep divisions between the two principal stakeholders, Turkey and Russia, will continue to obstruct the political process. While these two geopolitical heavyweights […]