Aron Lund

2 weeks ago | unt.se | Aron Lund

Ahmed al-Sharaa har inte råd att tacka nej till Moskvas utsträckta hand. Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syriens ledare. Krönika2025-04-26 18:00Geopolitiskt självskadebeteende eller befogad försiktighet? Åsikterna går isär, men ett resultat av USA:s och Europas politik mot Syrien är att landet nu återigen håller på att hamna i knät på Ryssland. I tretton år slogs de syriska rebellerna mot Bashar al-Assads ryskstödda diktatur. I nio år slogs de också mot Ryssland, som intervenerade på Assads sida 2015.

1 month ago | tcf.org | Veena Ali-Khan |Thanassis Cambanis |Aron Lund |Sam Heller

The demography of both Lebanon and Syria is in flux, after the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Thousands of people are now on the move, inside the two countries and across their shared border—in both directions. Since Syrian rebels toppled the Assad government on December 8, hundreds of thousands of people have crossed the Syrian–Lebanese border—both Syrian refugees in Lebanon returning home, and Syrians and Lebanese escaping the new Syria.

1 month ago | tcf.org | Thanassis Cambanis |Aron Lund |Sam Heller |Sajad Jiyad

The events of the last year have upended many assumptions about the Axis of Resistance, the loosely defined network of Iran and its core partners. For as long as the Islamic Republic of Iran has sought to export revolution and project power in the Arab Middle East, surprisingly persistent debates have raged over core questions. Did Iran tightly command a network of proxies and dependents—or did it stand at the center of a loose network of like-minded groups and opportunistic fellow travelers?

1 month ago | warontherocks.com | Gonul Tol |Aron Lund |Denise Natali |Alex Vatanka

In February, Abdullah Öcalan — the long-imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) — called on the group to lay down its arms and “dissolve itself” after more than 40 years of fighting Turkish forces. In an initial step, the PKK called for a ceasefire on March 1. In addition to significant implications for politics and security in Turkey, the development affects Kurds in Syria, Iraq, and Iran.

1 month ago | tcf.org | Aron Lund |Sam Heller |Nicholas Danforth |Sajad Jiyad

The new masters of Sayida Zaynab, a famous Shia shrine in the countryside outside Damascus, strode with confidence across the nearly empty marble courtyard, ignoring audible grumbles from the few remaining pilgrims and staffers. Abu Omar, the shrine’s new head of security, wears his beard long and ragged, in a style often associated with purist Sunnis.