Sascha Ruppert-Karakas

Based on dozens of interviews with Syria’s secretive Uyghur community, @EmilyZFeng provides the most comprehensive account to date of those who left their home in Xinjiang, fleeing an oppressive Chinese state, to organise, arm themselves and prepare for an eventual return. It is a compelling read because, for once, Syria’s Uyghurs are doing much of the talking themselves. Beyond this wealth of first-hand accounts, the book leaves crucial questions about access unanswered and says little about the arrangements between the Uyghurs and their long-standing allies in HTS, but it certainly provides the material to start asking them. syriaintransition.com/en/hom…

The November issue is out! We look at the prospects for a Syrian-Iraqi partnership, examine why urgent action is needed to understand Syria’s Lucifer effect, and lift the bandage on the booming plastic surgery industry. We also bring you two reviews: one of a beloved restaurant in Homs that has recently been renovated, losing some of its taste and appeal in the process, and another of Emily Feng’s new book on Uyghur foreign fighters in Syria. ☑️ Arabs of the North, unite! As war exposes the Gulf’s vulnerabilities, Iraq and Syria have an opening. Seizing it will require binding economic ties and a political accommodation across the sectarian divide ☑️ Syria’s Lucifer effect: What makes people who know right from wrong do evil things? ☑️ Damascus, the city of nose casts: How social media, changing beauty standards and a new generation of surgeons are fuelling Syria’s cosmetic surgery boom ☑️ Father of Grime’s new clothes: A restaurant review of Toshka al-Firdous in Homs ☑️ Syria Business Diary – October 2026: The first letter of credit in 14 years, and no cheap diesel yet ☑️ The Uyghurs who went to war: A review of Emily Feng’s book ‘Our Hearts Burned for Home: Uyghur Militants in Syria’s Civil War’ syriaintransition.com/en/hom…

New from our October issue: On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Brett McGurk attempted to elicit a public disavowal of al-Qaeda from Ahmad al-Sharaa, who resisted and turned the tables. The encounter tells a lot about a fundamental difference between the US establishment and Syria under al-Sharaa that may prove irreconcilable. syriaintransition.com/en/hom…

For President Sharaa, keeping the base on side is crucial, and It begins with not taking the Sunni majority for granted. Some Sunnis now say that their continued silence in the face of HTS mismanagement is harming the state-building project in Syria, and that, while remaining loyal to the state, they should be allowed to criticise the government. Angry Sunnis [From the SiT archive - July 2025.] syriaintransition.com/en/hom…

Aliza Marcus’s latest book offers a useful timeline of events and insightful interviews with PKK figures; but the darker stains remain woven into a compelling liberation narrative instead of being allowed to disrupt it – leaving empty some much-needed space between romanticisation and demonisation. syriaintransition.com/en/hom…

In sentencing Ahmad Hassoun to life imprisonment, the judges cited his abuse of office for personal enrichment and incitement to violence. But Hassoun was not a black sheep. He was part of a system in which parts of the Sunni religious establishment were entangled with the Assad regime. Most of these networks have since found accommodation with Syria’s new rulers. syriaintransition.com/en/hom…

We are back with fresh élan and new formats – including restaurant reviews that are both informative and entertaining. In the September issue: ☑️ The old bargain between religion and state lives on: Grand Mufti Hassoun’s life sentence has opened the book on religious co-option. Will anyone turn the page? ☑️ Currency confusion: Syria’s redesigned bank notes have erased two zeroes and the Assads’ portraits. They have also confused locals and foreigners alike ☑️ Who can afford a burger in the new Syria? A restaurant review of Cali in Damascus ☑️ UK support to Syria’s new chapter: Peter McDermott, the outgoing Development Director for Syria at the FCDO, takes stock of the UK’s aid response ☑️ Revolution without reckoning: A review of Aliza Marcus’s book ‘Resurgence & Revolution: The PKK and the Kurdish Fight in Turkey and Syria’ syriaintransition.com/en/hom…

Has the international governance system that failed Syrians under Assad learned from its mistakes? Our Executive Editor @LarsHauch argues that beneath the rhetoric of a new beginning, it’s business as usual, with many of the shortcomings persisting, regardless of where one stands on Syria’s new authorities. syriaintransition.com/en/hom…

Today we are launching SiT Analysis. Published at least once a month, it will feature in-depth analysis of policy-relevant issues by distinguished authors. Each piece follows the same four-part structure: the situation, the analysis, the implications, and what’s next. We are delighted to begin with a contribution from Elizabeth Tsurkov (@LizHurra) on the internal logic of Israeli conduct in Syria. syriaintransition.com/en/hom…

The Syrian government has committed to turning schools into places where children not only learn maths and history, but also that they are entitled to human rights. How seriously educational reform is implemented will be a sharp indicator of where the country is heading. What degree of change can be expected? syriaintransition.com/en/hom…

The arrest of prominent British-Syrian journalist Hassan Akkad sparked public outcry and a broader debate about the limits of free speech in Syria’s emerging political order. His subsequent release shows that public pressure still carries weight in today’s Syria. But the broader debate over the limits of free expression - that Western democracies, too, continue to wrestle with - has only just begun. syriaintransition.com/en/hom…