Can Israel preserve the Druze Mountains?
On July 16, 2025, the Syrian army left the city of Sweida, as well as every other piece of land it controlled within that region, having held them for just two days. This was due [...]
Fabrice Balanche : « In the immediate future, Iran’s choices are constrained following the Israeli airstrikes. »
Published in French, Le Figaro, 13 June, 2025 by Amaury Coutansais-Pervinquière INTERVIEW - "Israel will follow the same strategy in Iran what it did in Lebanon against Hezbollah by striking regime officials and its infrastructure," [...]
Climate Change and Conflicts in the Middle East
Despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, it is easy to overlook the impact of climate change. The regional conflicts are largely determined by classical geopolitics. However, it is important not to overlook the [...]
Fabrice Balanche is a well know expert on Syria. Then left-wing extremists attacked his lecture.
From Neue Zürcher Zeitung, May 27, 2025, by Lucien Scherrer An attack by students on a researcher galvanized France, revealing the cowardice and extremist tendencies at universities. Clad in masks, with hoods and hats concealing [...]
The university is doomed if academic freedom is suppressed within its walls.
Open Letter by Senator Max Brisson, JDD, May 25, 2025 One hundred Senators have addressed the Minister of Higher Education, denouncing the ideology prevalent at universities. This is based on the case of Professor Fabrice [...]
Geography of the Alawites Massacre
The early-March 2025 massacres against the Alawites caused the deaths of thousands of people. Analyzing these events helps to understand the motivations of their perpetrators and the sequence of operations. Published in French in Revue [...]
Syria’s Islamist leader wants to make example of Alawites
The wave of sectarian violence that gripped Syria last week has marred the image of the country's new Islamist president, Ahmad al-Sharaa. Could the government have done more to prevent it? French academic Fabrice Balanche [...]
Rebuilding Syria May Require Federalism
The original article is published by The Washington Institute by Fabrice Balanche, Feb 28, 2025 If Sharaa wants to avoid repeating Assad’s mistakes, he may have to genuinely decentralize political power and establish a federal system, [...]
Syrian Mosaïc : End of the Kurdish Statelet?
The various Islamist and jihadist factions that overthrew Bashar al-Assad were united by their hatred of the Baathist regime. Now, they need another enemy to maintain their semblance of unity: the Kurds. Anti-Kurdish racism is [...]
Homs resists, Damascus besieged, the SDF cuts the Iranian axis
The city of Homs is resisting the assault of the jihadists who are blocked by the defense line established on the northern ring road. To break it, they could use suicide bombers like in Aleppo. [...]