@neepd

Senior Fellow & Director of Publications @ArabCenterDC. Author, Syria: A Modern History (2026). Opinions mine alone.

 Washington, D.C. ish
danielneep.com
Joined April 2011
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  • Followers2.8K
350Media
Reviewed in the @FT today! "Daniel Neep’s excellent, comprehensive history of “modern” Syria corrects the traditional narrative of a passive Syria by placing its people at the heart of their story.... [a] masterly narrative."
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‘The notion that capitalism is incompatible with or that it provides a guarantee against authoritarianism may be good propaganda but it is poor political sociology.’ Ralph Miliband
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Great to talk about my ‘Syria: A Modern History’ @ccasGU yesterday! And fantastic questions from the audience.
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Join @ArabCenterDC, @GUGovt, and @ccasGU for a roundtable on the social, economic, political, institutional, and ideological forces that shaped Tunisia’s “Fractured Transition.” 📅 October 20, 2026 | ⏰ 11:30 AM–2:30 PM ET Register 👇 arabcenterdc.org/event/tunis…
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Many thanks to @neepd and his @ArabCenterDC colleagues for publishing my latest analysis, which is about how the different Gulf Arab monarchies see the Mecca Defense Pact. arabcenterdc.org/resource/ho…

How Smaller GCC States Are Navigating the Mecca Defense Agreement

The recent recommencement of the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, commonly known as the Houthis, raises important questions about the practical implications of the...

arabcenterdc.org
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What will Trump and Xi say about the Iran war at their summit tomorrow? @AGhiselliChina offers useful insights: arabcenterdc.org/resource/wh…
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This essay is adapted from Syria: A Modern History, Daniel Neep’s excellent book for @BasicBooks @neepd Read and subscribe to @hiddencitiesmag hidden-cities.com/p/how-syri…

How Syria’s Future After Assad Echoes With Its Past

The debates in Syria today resonate with the same set of challenges that earlier generations of Syrians faced.

hidden-cities.com
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I have a new essay in Engelsberg Ideas on Aimee Genell’s Empire by Law: The Ottoman Origins of the Mandate System in the Middle East. It’s a fascinating book about Ottoman lawyers, alternative sovereignties, and international law. engelsbergideas.com/reviews/…
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They updated the URL: engelsbergideas.com/reviews/…

An Ottoman age of experiments

Far from being the 'Sick Man of Europe', the late Ottoman Empire witnessed a period of extraordinary political adaptation.

engelsbergideas.com
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Far from being the 'Sick Man of Europe', the late Ottoman Empire witnessed a period of extraordinary political adaptation. An Ottoman age of experiments | @neepd engelsbergideas.com/reviews/…

An Ottoman age of experiments

Far from being the 'Sick Man of Europe', the late Ottoman Empire witnessed a period of extraordinary political adaptation.

engelsbergideas.com
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Here’s my take on the Assad sentence:
Arab Center Washington DC
@ArabCenterDCAug 14
Daniel Neep examines #Syria's efforts to hold former regime officials accountable, the legal challenges facing transitional justice, and whether these trials can support reconciliation and a stable political future. @neepd
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Daniel Neep retweeted
Aaron Y. Zelin
@azelinJun 1
Finally finished Daniel Neep’s (@neepd) exhaustive history of modern Syria. A must-read and a ton of lessons for the current stage. Biggest takeaway is how much Syrian history rhymes with itself. Hopefully, the new authorities appreciate that history within the current stakes.
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Syria: A Modern History - “rich in detail, free of reductionism, and notably free of partisan bias” I'm immensely grateful to @Yassinhs for this generous and serious engagement with my book for @aljumhuriya_eng. aljumhuriya.net/en/2026/05/2…

Comments on ‘Syria: A Modern History’ by Daniel Neep

Detailed, Non-Reductive, and Unbiased

aljumhuriya.net
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@Yassinhs's comment that the book “deserves to be made available to Syrians and to Arabic-language readers” is also deeply meaningful.
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تعليقي على كتاب دانيال نيب: سورية، تاريخ حديث @neepd
الجمهورية.نت
@aljumhuriya_netMay 29
مهم، غني بالتفاصيل، غير اختزالي، وغير منحاز، ويلبي طلباً نامياً على استجماع التاريخ السوري الحديث. ياسين الحاج صالح، في تعليقات على كتاب دانيال نيب «سورية، تاريخ حديث». 🔗aljumhuriya.net/?p=64284
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“‘Syria: A Modern History’ appears at a timely moment. It deserves to be made available to Syrians and to Arabic-language readers.” ✍️Yassin al-Haj Saleh aljumhuriya.net/?p=64306
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Daniel Neep retweeted
Alonso Gurmendi@Alonso_GDMay 25
Britain’s higher education system, one of the finest in the world, is being slowly, relentlessly, destroyed
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Finally, a small step in the right direction Andy Burnham to back electoral reform if he becomes prime minister theguardian.com/politics/202…

Andy Burnham to back electoral reform if he becomes prime minister

Labour’s Makerfield byelection candidate wants to make politics ‘less point-scoring, more problem-solving’

theguardian.com
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Great opportunity for PhD candidates in social sciences and humanities 👇
Arab Center
@ArabCenter_enApr 30
📣 Announcement The call for applications for the eighth #ACRPS International Winter School #IWS8, titled “Migrant Communities in an Age of Resurgent Nativism: Rethinking the Questions of Citizenship and Belonging,” is now open. 📅 The event will be held on 9–14 January 2027 in Doha, Qatar. ⏳ Apply by 1 July 2026. For submission and more details: 🔗acr.ps/hBxNM4x
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Daniel Neep retweeted
Chris Blattman
@cblattsMay 20
My hypothesis: US university education was a massively successful export industry (foreign students paying tuition + housing + living expenses is literally classified as exports) and Trump admin collapsed this demand.
Anthony Bradley
@drantbradleyMay 17
Clemson is $1.5B in debt. Syracuse is closing or pausing 93 programs, UNC-Chapel Hill plans to cut spending by $89M over 3 years. Duke recently let 600 employees go in a $350M budget cut. Indiana public colleges announced a plan to eliminate or merge 580 programs statewide.
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I’ve always been baffled by the eery silence on Israel’s nuclear arsenal in the US. Perhaps that might start to change? washingtonpost.com/national-…

Some Democrats press Trump to break silence on Israel’s nuclear arsenal

A letter from 30 lawmakers calls on the U.S. to expose Israel’s weapons program, which it doesn’t acknowledge and was built in secret beginning in the late 1950s.

washingtonpost.com
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