June, 2026

• 6 June

  Syria’s Protest Wave: A Governance Stress Test

  

  Washington should treat the recent public discontent not as a sign that Syria’s transition is failing, but as an opportunity to help ensure that Damascus does not repeat the mistakes of previous governments. Since the beginning of the year, Syrian transport workers, farmers, nurses, teachers, lawyers, university students, municipal employees, …

  Read More »
• 6 June

  Voluntary Militia Disarmament in Iraq Sounds Too Good to Be True, and It Likely Is

  

  Promises from Iran-backed militias in Iraq can never be taken at face value. Asaib Ahl al-Haq (AAH), an Iran-backed militia in Iraq designated by Washington as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in 2020, announced on June 2 that it would turn its weapons over to state control. Kataib Imam Ali, …

  Read More »
• 6 June

  After America

  

  While Washington’s war with Iran drags on, month after month, without any end in sight, the world is witnessing the very real limits of U.S. global power. As President Donald Trump lurches repeatedly from threats of devastation to promises of peace, it’s becoming increasingly clear that U.S. military might is …

  Read More »
• 6 June

  Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict May 26-June 2, 2026

  E_089_26Download

  Read More »
• 6 June

  The logic behind the madness

  

  Why Trump’s Middle East strategy is not new – and may even be workingThe US/Israel war on Iran is described by some as impulsive, chaotic, and even irrational: a war that the US has already lost. This view might generate clicks, but it overlooks the deeper logic shaping American policy …

  Read More »
• 6 June

  The Druze Supervillain

  

  Attempts to securitise Suwayda are ill advisedSuwayda compresses many of Syria’s key challenges into a remarkably narrow space: decentralisation of governance, minority relations, competing victimhood narratives, a lack of accountability and transitional justice, war-economy networks and Israeli intervention. None of these are unique to the province. How they are handled …

  Read More »
• 6 June

  Optimism over US-Iran deal fades; Trump scrambles to secure Lebanon truce

  The optimism that President Trump projected last week toward securing a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz has quickly faded, with Tehran on Monday suspending talks in protest of Israel’s punishing strikes on Lebanon. Trump sent varying messages as he scrambled Monday to secure a truce between …

  Read More »
• 6 June

  How will the Iran war change the US role in the world?

  

  At the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore this past Saturday, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth spoke about the “most consequential region in the world.” He was not talking about the Middle East, where the US-Iran conflict, now in its fourth month, has settled into a brittle ceasefire, as the Strait …

  Read More »
• 6 June

  Baltic Roundup | May 2026

  

  Since the start of 2025, some two dozen drones have entered Baltic territory as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Dear readers, Since the start of 2025, some two dozen drones have strayed into Baltic territory as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine. At least five incursions occurred …

  Read More »
• 6 June

  Syria and Jordan by the Numbers

  

  Trade statistics show why Amman has more reason than Damascus to welcome the improvement in bilateral commerce. Syria’s border with Jordan has long reflected the state of relations between the two neighbors. The border itself, delineated by France and Britain in October 1931, was tightly enforced only from 1970 onward, …

  Read More »