Navigating the Impact of Conflict on Syria's Ethnic, Religious, and Tribal Communities CSS Teams Event

Chair: Professor Raymond Hinnebusch
Speakers
* Michael Bauer Director of Kas in Lebanon
* Dr. Haian Dukhan: Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Teesside University; Fellow of the Centre for Syrian Studies at the University of St Andrews.
* Dr. Rana Khalaf: Fellow of the Centre for Syrian Studies, University of St Andrews.
* Thomas McGee: Thomas: PhD candidate at Melbourne Law School
Event Description:
Speakers in this seminar will present the findings of a report commissioned by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, examining how the Syrian conflict since 2011 has affected the country's ethnic, religious, and tribal communities. The report explores how the conflict has reshaped communal identities, highlighting their complex, intersecting, and dynamic nature, and it examines both constraints and opportunities for localized peace solutions and policy recommendations.
The report focuses on five key case studies:
1. Arab Tribal Dynamics and Kurdish-led Self-Administration (SA) in Deir Ezzor, amid recent escalations.
2. The Druze Community's Uprising in Sweida in late 2023.
3. Syrian Christians' Experiences of sectarianization and counter-sectarianization.
4. Displacement Layers in Afrin, with emphasis on Housing, Land, and Property (HLP) issues.
5. Education Challenges for Idlib's Sunni Community under Haya't Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in a regional governance context.
The research emphasizes local agency in peace formation efforts led by grassroots actors, including cultural, social, religious, and local governance figures. Notably, it highlights efforts by Sunni Arab tribal leaders advocating non-violence in Deir Ezzor, Druze mobilization for community cohesion in Sweida, Christian groups countering sectarianization, grassroots HLP advocacy in Afrin, and Sunni Arab teachers in Idlib promoting non-ideologized education.
In light of Syria's protracted conflict, the report recommends localized interventions alongside international support to advance peace formation as a sustainable policy approach. It advocates comprehensive support—politically, technically, and financially—for local peace agents, underscoring the importance of reflexive, intersectional, and context-sensitive strategies.