Levant/North Africa

As change continues to reverberate across the Arab world, the Stimson Center will monitor closely the impact of ongoing transformations in the Levant and North Africa.  In 2012, Stimson will devote particular attention to the challenges posed by the upheaval in Syria and its implications for regional stability, including the potential for a sectarian civil war inside Syria as well as emerging regional conflicts.  Our research efforts will focus on the complexity of the Syrian crisis in all it dimensions.  In addition, the Stimson Center, together with the US Institute of Peace, will co-sponsor the Lebanon Working Group, which will explore the potential repercussions of both internal and regional conflict in Lebanon.

Levant/North Africa News

Mona Yacoubian leads a conversation on the situation in Syria on April 17, 2012, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call series. Click here to listen.

Mona Yacoubian is quoted in a Sydney Morning Herald article by Ruth Pollard published on April 7, 2012, about different facets of the crisis in Syria. Click here to read. 

Mona Yacoubian is quoted in "Syria Rebels 'Rebound;' Will Arming Them Spark Civil Slaughter?," an April 11, 2012, piece written by Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. for AOL Defense. Click here to read.

Mona Yacoubian is quoted in "Syrian Kurds Could Tip Scales of Syrian Conflict," a March 29, 2012, piece written by JulieAnn McKellogg for Voice of America. Click here to read.

Mona Yacoubian publishes piece in the New York Times' Room for Debate Forum on March 26, 2012, highlighting the implications of Russia's evolving role in the crisis in Syria. Click here to read.

Mona Yacoubian travels to Geneva from March 26-28, 2012, to speak at a private meeting on Syria sponsored by the Geneva Center for Security Policy.

Mona Yacoubian is quoted in a Brisbane Times article by Ruth Pollard published on March 3, 2012, discussing the humanitarian situation in Homs. Click here to read.

On February 23, 2012, Mona Yacoubian publishes "Is Egypt Heading Off the Rails?" for the Stimson Center's Spotlight series. Click here to read.

On February 23, 2012, Mona Yacoubian participates in expert panel moderated by Bloomberg News correspondent Indira Lakshmanan, discussing potential international responses to Syrian unrest. Click here to watch.

On February 16, 2012, the Stimson Center co-sponsored a panel discussion with the Middle East Institute, "No End in Sight: Syria After the UN Vote," featuring Aram Nerguizian, Randa Slim, Kate Seelye, and Mona Yacoubian. Click here for a summary of the panel discussion and video from the event.

Mona Yacoubian is quoted in a USA Today article by Jim Michaels published on February 20, 2012, exploring Al Qaeda's prospects for expanding its influence in Syria. Click here to read more.

Mona Yacoubian appears on Radio France International on February 15, 2012, to discuss US policy options in Syria. Click here to listen.

Mona Yacoubian is quoted in Andrew Quinn's article, "In growing Syria crisis, Obama has few options," published by Reuters on February 15, 2012. Click here to read more.

Mona Yacoubian comments on the likelihood of U.S. intervention in Syria, in a February 9, 2012, piece in the Daily Beast. Click here to read.

Mona Yacoubian is quoted in Ruth Pollard's article in the Sydney Morning Herald, "Arab League Goes to UN as Blood Flows in Syria," on January 30, 2012. Click here to read.

The Stimson Center hosted a panel discussion on January 23, 2012, exploring the economic aspects of the Arab Spring uprisings, with a keynote address delivered by Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Robert D. Hormats. Click here to watch.

Stimson Demographer in Residence Richard Cincotta publishes an article for the Foreign Policy Research Institute in January 2012 exploring the interplay between the Arab Spring protests and demographic change in the Middle East and North Africa. Click here to read.

Mona Yacoubian participates in a panel discussion on Al Jazeera's Inside Syria show on January 15, 2012, analyzing whether Syria's economic decline will act as a greater challenge to al-Assad than the uprising itself. Click here to watch.

Mona Yacoubian speaks about Syria's ongoing political instability in an interview with KPFK 90.7 FM (Los Angeles, California), on December 23, 2011. Click here to listen.

Mona Yacoubian was quoted by Sydney News Herald's Ruth Pollard on December 13, 2011, on the Syrian government's violent crackdown on protestors in the city of Homs. Click here to read the article.

Mona Yacoubian authored an article for Foreign Affairs regarding Hezbollah on December 1, 2011.

Mona Yacoubian speaks about the escalating violence in Syria on the Diane Rehm Show (NPR affiliate WAMU 88.5 FM, Washington, DC), August 17, 2011. Click here for the transcript.

Mona Yacoubian testifies before Congress on the human rights situation in Syria on July 12, 2011. Click here for the transcript.

More Levant/North Africa News

Levant/North Africa Publications

Seismic Shift: Understanding Change in the Middle East, May 2011, Stimson Center

The momentous events sweeping the Arab world since late 2010 raise important questions about the art and science of analyzing political and societal events. In an age of information surplus, which creates the illusion that one can easily know what is happening anywhere in the world, big surprises still occur. Societies change, governments make choices that have consequences, and the political life of a country or a region is transformed.

Towards a More Secure and Stable Lebanon: Prospects for Security Sector Reform, February 2008, Stimson Center
By Emile El-Hokayem and Elena McGovern