Syria
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Hezbollah after the Beirut Attacks
A Battle on Many Fronts
In Syria, Hezbollah is backing the Assad regime in the fight against the rebels, as a way of defending the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah alliance. This has been met with great hostility at home in Lebanon, and is provoking reactions on the Salafist front. Background from Juliane Metzker
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The Arab Spring in Historical Perspective
Revolutions Take Time
Analysts have gleefully declared the Arab Spring to have failed. What they don't understand however, is that fundamental societal changes don't occur over night. In her essay, Ingrid Thurner pleads for more time for the Arab Spring
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Al-Qaeda's New Strategy
Turning away from the Distant Enemy
In contrast to their earlier tactics, militant jihadists are increasingly turning away from attacking the West to concentrate on more local and regional targets. Albrecht Metzger reports on the current change of strategy in the activities of Al-Qaeda and its allies
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Oriental Christians in Germany
Providing a Diplomatic Bridge
A new central council of oriental Christians has been formed in Germany to raise public awareness of the problems Arab Christians are facing in conflict-ridden countries like Syria, Egypt and Iraq. Günther Birkenstock reports
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Syria's Civil War
Promoting Democracy
The Syrian conflict is dangerous and complex. A recent publication points out how western governments might promote the pro-democracy forces in the country. By Dagmar Wolf
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George Sabra, President of the Syrian National Council
"We Always Have to Hope for a Political Solution"
The president of the Syrian National Council George Sabra tells Najima El Moussaoui why peace talks with Bashar al-Assad in his opinion will only waste time, but that he still believes in a diplomatic solution
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Syrian Refugees
Driven out of Egypt
The Egyptian authorities are taking a very heavy-handed line against refugees from the Syrian civil war. Amnesty International says Cairo is forcing those who have fled the violence and entered Egypt to leave the country again, thereby pushing them into a highly uncertain future. Andreas Gorzewski reports
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Russia, the US and the Syrian Civil War
A Bloody Game of Chess
The Assad regime has succeeded in turning Syria into a chess board over which Russia and the US have locked horns as the blood and tears continue to flow. The losers in this stalemate are undoubtedly the Syrian people, writes Elias Khoury in his essay
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Syria and the Middle East
The End of the Sykes Picot System?
Aside from the human suffering caused by Syria's ongoing war, we should be aware of the potentially dire regional consequences of Syria's disintegration: It would call the entire post-World War I Middle Eastern state system into question. By Volker Perthes
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Syria and the Middle East
The End of the Sykes Picot System?
Aside from the human suffering caused by Syria's ongoing war, we should be aware of the potentially dire regional consequences of Syria's disintegration: It would call the entire post-World War I Middle Eastern state system into question. By Volker Perthes
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Open Letter to Europe
"Tunisia Needs Help!"
In an open letter to José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, the well-known Tunisian journalist Soufiane Chourabi appeals to the EU to put pressure on Tunisia’s government because it tolerates the attacks by fundamentalist Islamic groups on Tunisians’ personal freedoms
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Commentary by Daoud Kuttab
An Arab "Third Way"
Throughout the post-colonial period, Arab countries have consistently failed to produce an efficient – let alone democratic – system of government. Now, after a half-century of competition between military or royal dictatorships and militant Islamist regimes, many Arabs are again seeking a "third way"