Bashar al-Assad

International

Why the Islamic State is back

Several reports from the UN and others have tracked the growth of IS-KP since the fall of Kabul, and how the Taliban have failed to stop them

David Loyn

Inside Syria’s torture machine

The authors present persuasive evidence that Syria has the worst prisons in the Arab world

Peter Carty

How the West fumbled Syria

The costs of the sort of intervention in Syria that we envisaged in 2013 would not have been high

John Jenkins

The Middle East catches diplomacy fever

Suddenly countries usually fraught with turmoil are negotiating with each other

Daniel DePetris

Middle East

How the earthquake is strengthening Syria’s dictatorship

The West may not like it, but the Middle East is making its peace with Bashar al-Assad

Daniel DePetris