Publication

This policy brief discusses a possible end to the Syrian civil war. Attempts by Damascus to spread the conflict into neighbouring states and incite instability in the Levant have caused justifiable alarm, but won no strategic advantage for the regime. If anything, they have made external intervention more likely. The author argues that the major risk in not providing selected rebel units with meaningful support is that this would enhance the influence of jihadi extremists in Syria far beyond what its plural and multi-confessional society would normally tolerate.