IS, ISIS or Daesh? Turbulences in the Alphabet Soup ISIS lives off bare bestiality. While their opponents are paralyzed with fear, the work of satirists flourishes. Meanwhile Bashar al-Assad tries to present himself as the lesser evil in Syria. By Bente Scheller
Germany’s New Foreign Policy in the Making The Middle East is burning and, as usual, all eyes rest on Washington. What, then, is Germany willing and capable to contribute to the crisis management in Iraq? The diffuse reactions by politicians across the political spectrum point toward a significant paradigm shift. By Charlotte Beck
The Rehabilitation of Assad Above all, the West wants stability in Syria. Because he has managed to sit out everything that has happened in recent years, the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad seems to offer this very stability. But accepting the kind of stability Assad offers would mean having to forget the atrocities committed by his regime. By Bente Scheller
On the disappearance of Syrian activist Razan Zaitouneh: “Germany must keep up the pressure” Razan Zaitouneh, prominent human rights solicitor and leading figure in the Syrian revolution, was abducted from her office in an armed raid in the Syrian city of Douma. Our Middle East office manager Bente Scheller spoke with Pelican Mourad about the abduction. By Bente Scheller and Pelican Mourad
Perspectives Middle East & North Africa #6: I do not want to be born a refugee Millions of Syrians have fled their homes, either inside the country itself or sometimes very far from home. The magazine highlights some key aspects of the Syrian refugee problem through those affected who are living this tragedy. pdf
Interview about Syria: "The world should do something serious and do it quickly." The regime must not remain unpunished for the use of chemical weapons. If the U.S. and its allies do not act, the people themselves will feel even more isolated than before, and they will learn that there are no limits to the brutality.
Between paralysis and civil war: Lebanon and the Syria conflict Lebanon is facing a complete paralysis of all state institutions, accompanied by a deteriorating security situation and a fragmentation of Lebanon into zones of sectarian conflict. The conflict in Syria is worsening the division within the country. By Doreen Khoury
Syria: Rape as a weapon of war In wars, rape has been used as a tool to go beyond the physical and military defeat of the enemy, to subdue a society politically and morally. The present article, written by psycho-therapist Dr. Jamal Khalil Sobh, sheds light on the repeated war crime of rapes of women, including the recent tragic incidents in Syria. By Jamal Khalil Sobh
"Two years on, Syria’s revolution remains trapped in geostrategic calculations and military balance of power” Dr. Ziad Majed is a Lebanese professor and political writer. The Syrian journalist Ahmad Silal talked with him about the international and Arab positions in relation to the Syrian revolution and the challenges that face it. By Ahmad Silal
Right and Left against the revolution In Syria the majority of the population is in revolt against the authoritarian regime, that has ruled Syria since 1970. The United Nations called the situation recently "a civil war". But why is it that the far Right and certain far-Left groups in a number of Western nations agree in their hostility to the Syrian revolution? By Dr. Ziad Majed