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 [...]
By Fabrice Balanche|2025-07-18T12:48:03+02:0018 July 2025|Analysis, Maps, Syria|
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 [...]
By Fabrice Balanche|2025-03-25T08:20:05+01:0025 March 2025|Analysis, Publication, Syria|
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 [...]
By Fabrice Balanche|2025-03-15T16:23:29+01:0015 March 2025|Communitarianism, Media, Syria|
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 [...]
By Fabrice Balanche|2025-03-03T15:15:20+01:003 March 2025|Analysis, Maps, Syria|
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, [...]
By Fabrice Balanche|2024-12-12T11:25:16+01:0012 December 2024|Kurdistan, Maps, Syria|
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 [...]
By Fabrice Balanche|2024-12-07T17:36:48+01:007 December 2024|Analysis, Maps, Syria|
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. [...]
By Fabrice Balanche|2024-12-05T16:15:32+01:005 December 2024|Maps, Syria|
After Aleppo, it is Hama's turn to fall into the hands of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The Syrian army, despite the support of the Russian air force, preferred to withdraw from a city that is naturally [...]
By Fabrice Balanche|2024-06-29T13:11:26+02:0029 June 2024|Events, Middle-East, Syria|
On June 26, 2024, I had the honor of receiving the geopolitical book prize for my latest work: Lessons from the Syrian crisis. Jean-Louis Bourlanges, the President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National [...]
By Fabrice Balanche|2024-05-25T22:13:39+02:0029 May 2024|Lebanon, Media, Syria|
Article published in L'Orient le Jour, 25 April 2024 by Jeanine Jalkh Fabrice Balanche, a lecturer at Lyon II University and expert on Syria, spoke to L’Orient-Le Jour about Syrian migrants in Lebanon, a topic explored in [...]
By Fabrice Balanche|2024-04-12T10:01:44+02:0012 April 2024|Analysis, Middle-East, Syria|
After the destruction of its consulate in Damascus, on April 1, Iran will retaliate against Israel. What will be the nature of Iranian retaliation? Iran does not want a direct confrontation against the Hebrew state [...]