European Institute for Studies on
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Syria: The Disarmament of the Kurds, or the End of Rojava Era 

Loÿs de Pampelonne

Syria: The Disarmament of the Kurds, or the End of Rojava Era 

September 16, 2026

This article examines the content of the compromise reached between Damascus and the Syrian Kurds, its implication for the regional balance – Turkey, the United-States, Israel, and the peace process with the PKK – and places it within the long-term context of the Kurdish question, comparing it to the far more institutionalised but as fragile trajectory of  Iraqi Kurdistan, whose structural vulnerability, despite thirty years of constitutional autonomy, has been highlighted by Adel Bakawan. Finally, this article considers what the end of the Rojava era might mean for the future of the Kurdish national movement as a whole. 

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CATEGORIES

Unpredictable Leadership and Mutual Distrust Threaten U.S.-Iran Nuclear Rapprochement: Interview with F. Gregory Gause III

June 17, 2025

F. Gregory Gause III, Lyna Ouandjeli

This interview was conducted at the beginning of June. Following the events of June 13, certain sections have been updated and footnotes added to reflect recent developments. Nevertheless, the original transcription captures the prevailing sense of uncertainty in the region and the potential for military escalation in the event of renewed tensions. The conversation explores the conditions that had allowed for a relatively cordial dialogue between the United States and Iran on the nuclear issue. However, as emphasized throughout the interview, uncertainty remains not only in the regional dynamics but also in the evolving and ambiguous role of the United States.

Iraq’s poll after two decades of ‘democracy’?

June 11, 2025

Sardar Aziz

In this article, Sardar Aziz analyses the fragile state of democracy in Iraq twenty years after the first post-dictatorship election in 2005.

Iran’s Strategic Outlook on U.S. Relations in a Shifting Middle East

June 6, 2025

Lyna Ouandjeli

This article examines the evolving dynamics of the U.S.-Iran relations in light of recent geopolitical shifts, particularly after October 7, 2023.

Diplomacy put to the test in the Middle East: Interview with Rony Brauman

June 5, 2025

Rony Brauman, Lyna Ouandjeli

Iran and the U.S. : A Trumpian Negotiation

May 30, 2025

Sardar Aziz

In this article, Sardar Aziz examines the negotiations between Iran and the United States during the Trump era, highlighting the strategic ambiguity, nuclear-related dilemmas, and rising geopolitical tensions that make any outcome uncertain.

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Rojava: The Final Hours of a Revolution?

September 14, 2026

Dida Faridoon is one of the few journalists to have attended the meeting of Rojava’s political representatives held in Qamishli on August 29, 2026, with Mazlum Abdi and Ilham Ahmed among the participants. Reading her account, the meeting appears to have been a moment of truth. Away from the cameras, a difficult and at times painful debate unfolded among Kurdish leaders confronted with an existential question: what will remain of Rojava, the Syrian Democratic Forces, and the political and social achievements built over more than a decade? Through Dida Faridoon’s exceptional first-hand account, EISMENA offers access to the discussions behind closed doors, as well as to interviews she personally conducted with several senior figures about the future of Rojava, the SDF, and the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ).

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