Peter Harling

It's time to update our understanding of Syria. To do so, we must take a long view. All countries develop structures that survive regime change, inform conflict, uphold cohesion. We've marked them out in a map that shows how Syria functions as a whole. synaps.network/en/post/mappin…

Syria's transition is shaped by slow-moving trends, decades in the making. We visualized key traits on one map, with analysis of why they matter. We are very proud to share this downloadable version. synaps.network/en/post/mappin…

Now my Facebook is a stream of organizations fundraising for Gaza. They show themselves on site, piling up food, cooking copious meals, even prepping herds for Adha. They both invoke siege and famine and imply the opposite visually. Incredibly, even the UN does as much.

Much of our work at Synaps consists in designing solutions that meet a very specific need for information. Our method, to grasp our end-users, comes from user-centric design, which applies just as well to social services or aid and development programs. synaps.network/en/post/the-po…

Orient XXI interview with @PeterHarling on Beirut. Full of truly interesting insights. Two come to mind: “Beirut is built on the Mediterranean and yet, bizarrely, it is not Mediterranean in character.” How true. And, “[p]lants tell us the story of a city whose more authentic,…

Beirut lovers! An intimate, summer interview that will take you around less known sides of the city, which make it most lovable and livable. orientxxi.info/magazine/beiru…

Beirut, a city at breaking point, by @PeterHarling for @OrientXXI #Beirut #Lebanon orientxxi.info/magazine/beiru…

Help us find the best match in Lebanon! We're looking for an experienced administrative consultant to sort out some of our key internal processes.

🇱🇧 Beirut as “City of Small Things”: newly-launched media outlet @Beyrouth360 interviews @PeterHarling: “La beauté de Beyrouth peut être là discrètement sous vos pieds … Cette ville juxtapose des éléments qui, théoriquement, ne devraient pas coexister… ” beyrouth360com.wpcomstaging.com/2025/06/30/pet…

This excellent book settles the ugly debate around European vs Muslim slavery. No, European slavery isn't nuanced by the existence of a Muslim equivalent. Nor was Muslim slavery "better" than its European counterpart. In the Black Sea, they all traded slaves with each other.

إن رفع العقوبات ضروري لإحياء اقتصاد سوريا، لكنه ليس كافيا بحد ذاته. في هذا المقال يوضح الباحث في شبكة سينابس أليكس سايمون @AlexGSimon العوائق الداخلية التي يجب على دمشق إزالتها لإطلاق عملية التعافي. #اقتصاد_سوريا #رفع_العقوبات_عن_سوريا synaps.network/ar/post/syria-…

ماذا يمكن لسوريا أن تتوقع من رفع العقوبات الاقتصادية؟ يعتمد ذلك على مدى تعامل دمشق مع القيود الداخلية التي تعيق اقتصادها، لا سيما الفساد، والعوائق البيروقراطية، والتشريعات المتخلفة، والغموض السائد. كما يجب على سوريا أن تعيد إطلاق عملية التعافي من الداخل. synaps.network/ar/post/syria-…

What can Syria expect from sanctions relief? It depends how much Damascus tackles the internal shackles on its economy: corruption, bureaucratic obstruction, lagging legislation, and general uncertainty. Syria must also jumpstart recovery from within. synaps.network/en/post/syria-…

For all its ado, France is still selling weapons to Israel. Like many other Western states, France, while raising its voice for the show, is whispering to Israel that it's alright, there will be no consequences, it can go all the way. franceinfo.fr/monde/proche-o…

Reduced aid to the most destitute Syrian refugees in Jordan has forced them to take on more debt to cover essential needs. This makes it ever more difficult for them to return to Syria. Cutting off support doesn't speed up returns: It delays a transition that implies resources.

Sanctions relief is essential to reviving Syria's economy. But it's not enough. @AlexGSimon lays out the web of internal barriers that Damascus must lift for recovery to take off. synaps.network/en/post/syria-…

In the West, the scramble is on. Not to stop Israel from fulfilling its horrific vision for Gaza. But to try to remove one's name from the macabre plans one had endorsed all along.

Famine isn't indiscriminate: Of all tactics, it's the least likely to kill enemy fighters. Famine kills the most vulnerable first: babies, children, the sick, the elderly. Men in arms last longest in a siege, and assert power over a weakening population. Gaza is no exception.

"A political transition like the one Syria is going through will inevitably put on display all sorts of disagreements. Sectarian tensions tend to be particularly taboo, but they are just a facet of far more complex identities." @PeterHarling discusses. carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/di…

A worrying aspect of Syria's transition is that each social group only sees the facts, videos, and comments that circulate within their own compartmentalized networks. As such, there is no public space, no common timeline of events, no shared narrative, no real basis for debate.