Haid Haid
@haidhaid22.bsky.social
Senior Fellow: Arab Reform Intiative, Chatham House, and ME Council on Global Affairs. | PhD from @warstudies | a Syrian who writes about Syria among other things. RT ≠ endorsements.
Reposted by Haid Haid
The Latakia makeup ban is a bad omen for Syria
en.majalla.com/node/329551/...
The backlash against the makeup ban is not about cosmetics—it’s about how far the state can go in regulating everyday life, argues @haidhaid22.bsky.social.
en.majalla.com/node/329551/...
The backlash against the makeup ban is not about cosmetics—it’s about how far the state can go in regulating everyday life, argues @haidhaid22.bsky.social.
February 8, 2026 at 11:07 AM
The Latakia makeup ban is a bad omen for Syria
en.majalla.com/node/329551/...
The backlash against the makeup ban is not about cosmetics—it’s about how far the state can go in regulating everyday life, argues @haidhaid22.bsky.social.
en.majalla.com/node/329551/...
The backlash against the makeup ban is not about cosmetics—it’s about how far the state can go in regulating everyday life, argues @haidhaid22.bsky.social.
My latest looks at the makeup ban in Latakia, which, together with other recent measures, points to a troubling pattern of state overreach into personal life, particularly in the regulation of women’s appearance and behaviour. en.majalla.com/node/329551/...
The Latakia makeup ban is a bad omen for Syria
The backlash against the makeup ban is not about cosmetics; it's about how far the state can go in regulating everyday life
en.majalla.com
February 10, 2026 at 10:47 PM
My latest looks at the makeup ban in Latakia, which, together with other recent measures, points to a troubling pattern of state overreach into personal life, particularly in the regulation of women’s appearance and behaviour. en.majalla.com/node/329551/...
Reposted by Haid Haid
#Damascus has pursued an improvised form of security stabilisation resembling Disarmament, Demobilisation, & Reintegration (#DDR), while avoiding the label. My policy note examines these efforts, their limits & what must change if stabilisation is to hold. mecouncil.org/publication/...
Syria’s Patchwork DDR: Holding a Transition Together with Loose Threads
Syria’s post-Assad authorities have pursued ad hoc DDR-style measures. This analysis explains why a coherent, nationally anchored DDR framework is essential for stability
mecouncil.org
February 5, 2026 at 8:19 AM
#Damascus has pursued an improvised form of security stabilisation resembling Disarmament, Demobilisation, & Reintegration (#DDR), while avoiding the label. My policy note examines these efforts, their limits & what must change if stabilisation is to hold. mecouncil.org/publication/...
#Damascus has pursued an improvised form of security stabilisation resembling Disarmament, Demobilisation, & Reintegration (#DDR), while avoiding the label. My policy note examines these efforts, their limits & what must change if stabilisation is to hold. mecouncil.org/publication/...
Syria’s Patchwork DDR: Holding a Transition Together with Loose Threads
Syria’s post-Assad authorities have pursued ad hoc DDR-style measures. This analysis explains why a coherent, nationally anchored DDR framework is essential for stability
mecouncil.org
February 5, 2026 at 8:19 AM
#Damascus has pursued an improvised form of security stabilisation resembling Disarmament, Demobilisation, & Reintegration (#DDR), while avoiding the label. My policy note examines these efforts, their limits & what must change if stabilisation is to hold. mecouncil.org/publication/...
As responsibility for managing the #ISIS file shifts to the Syrian state, my latest examines how #Damascus is proposing to approach this task, the lingering risks it entails, and the lessons drawn from HTS’s management of the ISIS file in northwest Syria. en.majalla.com/node/329460/...
The transfer of the IS file to Damascus is a test
The fight against IS will determine whether post-war Syria can confront the consequences of mass violence without recreating the conditions that allowed it to endure
en.majalla.com
February 4, 2026 at 3:07 PM
As responsibility for managing the #ISIS file shifts to the Syrian state, my latest examines how #Damascus is proposing to approach this task, the lingering risks it entails, and the lessons drawn from HTS’s management of the ISIS file in northwest Syria. en.majalla.com/node/329460/...
A chapter of America’s war against ISIS has closed, ending the SDF’s role as the US’s indispensable partner. What follows is not just a loss of leverage, but a reckoning with a political reality in which the SDF no longer plays a role that guarantees its survival en.majalla.com/node/329420/...
The end of the SDF's anti-IS role leaves it vulnerable
What follows is not merely a loss of leverage, but a reckoning with a political reality in which the Kurdish group no longer occupies a role that ensures its survival
en.majalla.com
January 30, 2026 at 9:12 AM
A chapter of America’s war against ISIS has closed, ending the SDF’s role as the US’s indispensable partner. What follows is not just a loss of leverage, but a reckoning with a political reality in which the SDF no longer plays a role that guarantees its survival en.majalla.com/node/329420/...
أغلقت واشنطن صفحة من حربها على تنظيم "داعش"، وأغلقت معها مرحلة اعتبرت خلالها "قوات سوريا الديمقراطية" شريكا لا بديل عنه www.majalla.com/node/329413/...
نهاية "اتفاق داعش" بين واشنطن و"قسد"
لم تتضح بعد ملامح التسوية بين الحكومة السورية و"قوات سوريا الديمقراطية" (قسد)، لا من ناحية الزمن ولا من ناحية الشروط. لكن المؤكد أن الولايات المتحدة أغلقت فصلا من حربها ضد "داعش".على مدى أكثر من عقد ا...
www.majalla.com
January 30, 2026 at 8:57 AM
أغلقت واشنطن صفحة من حربها على تنظيم "داعش"، وأغلقت معها مرحلة اعتبرت خلالها "قوات سوريا الديمقراطية" شريكا لا بديل عنه www.majalla.com/node/329413/...
Reposted by Haid Haid
🧵1/9 The #makeup_ban & personal freedoms: The #Latakia governorate’s decision to ban makeup for female employees in public institutions is framed as a neutral workplace regulation. However, it raises serious questions about personal freedoms, gender equality & state overreach.
January 28, 2026 at 8:44 AM
🧵1/9 The #makeup_ban & personal freedoms: The #Latakia governorate’s decision to ban makeup for female employees in public institutions is framed as a neutral workplace regulation. However, it raises serious questions about personal freedoms, gender equality & state overreach.
Reposted by Haid Haid
Syrian govt deals with Assad-era cronies raise unsettling questions
Official statements suggest Mohammad Hamsho, one of the Assad regime’s most prominent cronies, is only the first of many whose cases are being negotiated behind closed doors.
@haidhaid22.bsky.social
en.majalla.com/node/329297/...
Official statements suggest Mohammad Hamsho, one of the Assad regime’s most prominent cronies, is only the first of many whose cases are being negotiated behind closed doors.
@haidhaid22.bsky.social
en.majalla.com/node/329297/...
Syria’s deals with Assad-era cronies raise unsettling questions
The Hamsho settlement is leading Syrians to question whether the economic architecture of the old system is being quietly repackaged, rather than dismantled
en.majalla.com
January 26, 2026 at 3:34 PM
Syrian govt deals with Assad-era cronies raise unsettling questions
Official statements suggest Mohammad Hamsho, one of the Assad regime’s most prominent cronies, is only the first of many whose cases are being negotiated behind closed doors.
@haidhaid22.bsky.social
en.majalla.com/node/329297/...
Official statements suggest Mohammad Hamsho, one of the Assad regime’s most prominent cronies, is only the first of many whose cases are being negotiated behind closed doors.
@haidhaid22.bsky.social
en.majalla.com/node/329297/...
🧵1/9 The #makeup_ban & personal freedoms: The #Latakia governorate’s decision to ban makeup for female employees in public institutions is framed as a neutral workplace regulation. However, it raises serious questions about personal freedoms, gender equality & state overreach.
January 28, 2026 at 8:44 AM
🧵1/9 The #makeup_ban & personal freedoms: The #Latakia governorate’s decision to ban makeup for female employees in public institutions is framed as a neutral workplace regulation. However, it raises serious questions about personal freedoms, gender equality & state overreach.
Reposted by Haid Haid
My latest examines the shadowy deal Damascus struck with Assad crony Hamsho. By shielding such deals from public scrutiny, the authorities risk undermining their core claim to legitimacy: that Syria’s transition marks a real break from Assad-era cronyism.
en.majalla.com/node/329297/...
en.majalla.com/node/329297/...
Syria’s deals with Assad-era cronies raise unsettling questions
The Hamsho settlement is leading Syrians to question whether the economic architecture of the old system is being quietly repackaged, rather than dismantled
en.majalla.com
January 26, 2026 at 2:59 PM
My latest examines the shadowy deal Damascus struck with Assad crony Hamsho. By shielding such deals from public scrutiny, the authorities risk undermining their core claim to legitimacy: that Syria’s transition marks a real break from Assad-era cronyism.
en.majalla.com/node/329297/...
en.majalla.com/node/329297/...
My latest examines the shadowy deal Damascus struck with Assad crony Hamsho. By shielding such deals from public scrutiny, the authorities risk undermining their core claim to legitimacy: that Syria’s transition marks a real break from Assad-era cronyism.
en.majalla.com/node/329297/...
en.majalla.com/node/329297/...
Syria’s deals with Assad-era cronies raise unsettling questions
The Hamsho settlement is leading Syrians to question whether the economic architecture of the old system is being quietly repackaged, rather than dismantled
en.majalla.com
January 26, 2026 at 2:59 PM
My latest examines the shadowy deal Damascus struck with Assad crony Hamsho. By shielding such deals from public scrutiny, the authorities risk undermining their core claim to legitimacy: that Syria’s transition marks a real break from Assad-era cronyism.
en.majalla.com/node/329297/...
en.majalla.com/node/329297/...
🧵🚨 1/9 My latest dives into the Aleppo escalation, recaps how we got here, examines what the violence means for the March 10 agreement (derailment or momentum), and flags a strategic shift in Damascus’s approach to security challenges. www.arab-reform.net/publication/...
Aleppo’s Escalation Could Win Territory, but Lose the Peace
Clashes erupted on 6 January between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in Aleppo, marking the most serious confrontation between the two sides since the fall of the Assad regime. What h…
www.arab-reform.net
January 16, 2026 at 3:26 PM
🧵🚨 1/9 My latest dives into the Aleppo escalation, recaps how we got here, examines what the violence means for the March 10 agreement (derailment or momentum), and flags a strategic shift in Damascus’s approach to security challenges. www.arab-reform.net/publication/...
Reposted by Haid Haid
Unlike Aleppo, a conflict in northeast Syria would be neither swift nor contained, @haidhaid22.bsky.social writes. SDF fighters there are better trained and equipped, while tribal actors have expressed desire to join a confrontation against the SDF, raising risks.
www.arab-reform.net/publication/...
www.arab-reform.net/publication/...
Aleppo’s Escalation Could Win Territory, but Lose the Peace
Clashes erupted on 6 January between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in Aleppo, marking the most serious confrontation between the two sides since the fall of the Assad regime. What h…
www.arab-reform.net
January 16, 2026 at 11:53 AM
Unlike Aleppo, a conflict in northeast Syria would be neither swift nor contained, @haidhaid22.bsky.social writes. SDF fighters there are better trained and equipped, while tribal actors have expressed desire to join a confrontation against the SDF, raising risks.
www.arab-reform.net/publication/...
www.arab-reform.net/publication/...
My latest takes a deep dive into the escalation in #Aleppo, including around Deir Hafer, and examines a central question: Will the violence unravel the March 10 agreement between #Damascus & the #SDF, or will it force a stalled political process back into motion? www.arab-reform.net/publication/...
Aleppo’s Escalation Could Win Territory, but Lose the Peace
Clashes erupted on 6 January between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in Aleppo, marking the most serious confrontation between the two sides since the fall of the Assad regime. What h…
www.arab-reform.net
January 16, 2026 at 11:35 AM
My latest takes a deep dive into the escalation in #Aleppo, including around Deir Hafer, and examines a central question: Will the violence unravel the March 10 agreement between #Damascus & the #SDF, or will it force a stalled political process back into motion? www.arab-reform.net/publication/...
Reposted by Haid Haid
#Damascus has appointed an Internal Security Commander for #Raqqa, a move previously delayed due to negotiations with the #SDF. What does this mean for the already strained relationship between the two, & does it signal a further slide toward #escalation?
shaam.org/3Ggvp1
shaam.org/3Ggvp1
وزارة الداخلية تعلن لأول مرة منصب قائد الأمن الداخلي في محافظة الرقة
أعلنت وزارة الداخلية، استحداث منصب قائد الأمن الداخلي في محافظة الرقة، وذلك خلال زيارة وفد رسمي من الوزارة إلى إدارة التأهيل والتدريب وقد جرى الكشف عن تولي ا
shaam.org
January 15, 2026 at 10:20 AM
#Damascus has appointed an Internal Security Commander for #Raqqa, a move previously delayed due to negotiations with the #SDF. What does this mean for the already strained relationship between the two, & does it signal a further slide toward #escalation?
shaam.org/3Ggvp1
shaam.org/3Ggvp1
Reposted by Haid Haid
My report with @opensyr maps cross-border smuggling networks between #Syria and #Lebanon. It traces how these networks operated under #Assad and examines how the regime’s ouster has reshaped routes, methods, and power dynamics. opensyr.com/en/pages/p-39
January 14, 2026 at 5:32 PM
My report with @opensyr maps cross-border smuggling networks between #Syria and #Lebanon. It traces how these networks operated under #Assad and examines how the regime’s ouster has reshaped routes, methods, and power dynamics. opensyr.com/en/pages/p-39
#Damascus has appointed an Internal Security Commander for #Raqqa, a move previously delayed due to negotiations with the #SDF. What does this mean for the already strained relationship between the two, & does it signal a further slide toward #escalation?
shaam.org/3Ggvp1
shaam.org/3Ggvp1
وزارة الداخلية تعلن لأول مرة منصب قائد الأمن الداخلي في محافظة الرقة
أعلنت وزارة الداخلية، استحداث منصب قائد الأمن الداخلي في محافظة الرقة، وذلك خلال زيارة وفد رسمي من الوزارة إلى إدارة التأهيل والتدريب وقد جرى الكشف عن تولي ا
shaam.org
January 15, 2026 at 10:20 AM
#Damascus has appointed an Internal Security Commander for #Raqqa, a move previously delayed due to negotiations with the #SDF. What does this mean for the already strained relationship between the two, & does it signal a further slide toward #escalation?
shaam.org/3Ggvp1
shaam.org/3Ggvp1
My report with @opensyr maps cross-border smuggling networks between #Syria and #Lebanon. It traces how these networks operated under #Assad and examines how the regime’s ouster has reshaped routes, methods, and power dynamics. opensyr.com/en/pages/p-39
January 14, 2026 at 5:32 PM
My report with @opensyr maps cross-border smuggling networks between #Syria and #Lebanon. It traces how these networks operated under #Assad and examines how the regime’s ouster has reshaped routes, methods, and power dynamics. opensyr.com/en/pages/p-39
The key dynamics and issues I will be closely watching in Syria in 2026 in my capacity as an ARI Senior Non-Resident Fellow. The full list of Ten Things @arabreforminit.bsky.social Will Be Watching in the Arab Region in 2026 can be read here: www.arab-reform.net/campaign/ten...
January 12, 2026 at 9:23 AM
The key dynamics and issues I will be closely watching in Syria in 2026 in my capacity as an ARI Senior Non-Resident Fellow. The full list of Ten Things @arabreforminit.bsky.social Will Be Watching in the Arab Region in 2026 can be read here: www.arab-reform.net/campaign/ten...
Reposted by Haid Haid
🧵🚨 Thread on the latest demonstrations by Alawite communities. Unlike protests a month ago, these turned deadly, killing four & injuring over 100, highlighting the limits of containment & the urgency of changing course to prevent further escalation. 1/7 en.majalla.com/node/329017/...
Alawite protests return. But this time, they turn deadly.
The latest demonstrations, killing four and injuring 100, reveal the limits of containment, the cost of postponing accountability, and the risks of trading short-term calm for durable legitimacy
en.majalla.com
January 5, 2026 at 9:02 AM
🧵🚨 Thread on the latest demonstrations by Alawite communities. Unlike protests a month ago, these turned deadly, killing four & injuring over 100, highlighting the limits of containment & the urgency of changing course to prevent further escalation. 1/7 en.majalla.com/node/329017/...
🧵🚨 Thread on the latest demonstrations by Alawite communities. Unlike protests a month ago, these turned deadly, killing four & injuring over 100, highlighting the limits of containment & the urgency of changing course to prevent further escalation. 1/7 en.majalla.com/node/329017/...
Alawite protests return. But this time, they turn deadly.
The latest demonstrations, killing four and injuring 100, reveal the limits of containment, the cost of postponing accountability, and the risks of trading short-term calm for durable legitimacy
en.majalla.com
January 5, 2026 at 9:02 AM
🧵🚨 Thread on the latest demonstrations by Alawite communities. Unlike protests a month ago, these turned deadly, killing four & injuring over 100, highlighting the limits of containment & the urgency of changing course to prevent further escalation. 1/7 en.majalla.com/node/329017/...
Reposted by Haid Haid
Fresh UK sanctions on Syria send a message
London is making it clear that it expects more than just symbolic gestures from Damascus when it comes to holding security forces accountable for atrocities, writes @haidhaid22.bsky.social.
en.majalla.com/node/328877/...
London is making it clear that it expects more than just symbolic gestures from Damascus when it comes to holding security forces accountable for atrocities, writes @haidhaid22.bsky.social.
en.majalla.com/node/328877/...
Fresh UK sanctions on Syria send a message
London is making it clear that it expects more than just symbolic gestures from Damascus when it comes to holding security forces accountable for atrocities
en.majalla.com
December 30, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Fresh UK sanctions on Syria send a message
London is making it clear that it expects more than just symbolic gestures from Damascus when it comes to holding security forces accountable for atrocities, writes @haidhaid22.bsky.social.
en.majalla.com/node/328877/...
London is making it clear that it expects more than just symbolic gestures from Damascus when it comes to holding security forces accountable for atrocities, writes @haidhaid22.bsky.social.
en.majalla.com/node/328877/...
By imposing fresh sanctions at the start of the transition’s 2nd year, as Damascus launched public trials over the coastal violence, the UK is signalling that it expects more than symbolic gestures when it comes to holding security forces accountable for atrocities.👇 en.majalla.com/node/328877/...
Fresh UK sanctions on Syria send a message
London is making it clear that it expects more than just symbolic gestures from Damascus when it comes to holding security forces accountable for atrocities
en.majalla.com
December 30, 2025 at 8:58 AM
By imposing fresh sanctions at the start of the transition’s 2nd year, as Damascus launched public trials over the coastal violence, the UK is signalling that it expects more than symbolic gestures when it comes to holding security forces accountable for atrocities.👇 en.majalla.com/node/328877/...
Damascus has finally gained some breathing room after the U.S. repealed the draconian Caesar sanctions, but it cannot exhale just yet. I explore why in my latest analysis. en.majalla.com/node/328825/...
Syria's new post-sanctions test
Damascus finally gets breathing room after the US repealed its draconian Caesar sanctions, but it can't exhale just yet. Al Majalla explains why.
en.majalla.com
December 23, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Damascus has finally gained some breathing room after the U.S. repealed the draconian Caesar sanctions, but it cannot exhale just yet. I explore why in my latest analysis. en.majalla.com/node/328825/...