Obayda Ghadban is a Syrian researcher and PhD student in war studies at King’s College London. He has translated dozens of books on these and other subjects into Arabic, including The Logic of Violence in Civil War.
Gregory Waters is a researcher at the Syrian Archive and a former consultant with the International Crisis Group. His work has focused on the Assad regime’s security services and, more recently, local governance after Assad’s fall.
Sawsan Abou Zainedin is the CEO of Madaniya, an independent initiative that brings together more than 200 Syrian civil society organizations with the goal of reclaiming the political agency of the country’s civic space.
Brief Analysis
Join us for a webcast featuring diverse local voices from across Syria as they share insights into the post-Assad transition and Western policy options. Watch live starting at 10:00 a.m. EST (1500 GMT) on Wednesday, March 5, 2025.
Now that the Assad regime is gone, Syria’s new transitional leaders are working to shed their perceived association with Sunni extremist ideology and launch an inclusive national dialogue process. At the same time, their efforts to consolidate political and military control in various parts of the country have led some minority communities to worry about their future, while officials abroad remain uncertain about the nascent government’s longer-term intentions.
To discuss what is going on locally and better inform policymakers about realities on the ground, The Washington Institute is pleased to host a virtual Policy Forum with four experts and activists who have worked directly in these communities before and since the regime’s fall. The event will be moderated by Aaron Y. Zelin, the Institute’s Levy Senior Fellow.
Watch a live webcast of this event starting at 10:00 a.m. EST (1500 GMT) on Wednesday, March 5, 2025.
Obayda Ghadban is a Syrian researcher and PhD student in war studies at King’s College London. He has translated dozens of books on these and other subjects into Arabic, including The Logic of Violence in Civil War.
Gregory Waters is a researcher at the Syrian Archive and a former consultant with the International Crisis Group. His work has focused on the Assad regime’s security services and, more recently, local governance after Assad’s fall.
Ferhad Ahma is cofounder and director of PEL-Civil Waves, a peacebuilding organization in Syria.
Sawsan Abou Zainedin is the CEO of Madaniya, an independent initiative that brings together more than 200 Syrian civil society organizations with the goal of reclaiming the political agency of the country’s civic space.
The Policy Forum series is made possible through the generosity of the Florence and Robert Kaufman Family.
