Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told the country’s parliament on August 25 that initiatives to revive relations with Turkey had not yielded “any results worth mentioning despite the seriousness and genuine keenness of mediators.” This declaration comes after both Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Assad signaled that they were interested …

Efforts to amend the 1959 Personal Status Law are another attempt to create a parallel authority to that of the state. Controversial efforts in Iraq today to change the country’s personal status law and give more power to the religious sects reflects the growing institutionalization of sectarianism as the basis …

Volodymyr Zelensky’s Western allies have worried that the surprise, cross-border attack will provoke Vladimir Putin to escalate. Less than a month ago, Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, overwhelming Russian border defenses and taking hundreds of soldiers captive. The move has boosted Ukrainian spirits during a year …