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36 Articles found

Event

12th November 2025

Captagon’s shifting geopolitics: How an illicit regional tra...

On 12 November 2025, a virtual panel discussion explored the captagon economy’s evolving role in the Middle East’s political and security landscape. ...
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Syria Middle East Transnational Flows Organised Crime Conflict Economies

Research report

24th October 2025

When cartels collapse: The future of captagon in the Middle ...

Nick Krohley, Ian Larson
This report explores the future of Captagon in the post-Assad Middle East. Drawing on open-source data and interviews with Syria’s counternarcotics fo...
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Syria Middle East Transnational Flows Organised Crime Conflict Economies

Research report

20th October 2025

Cross-border lifelines and local rule: charting a post-autho...

Salma Daoudi
Syria’s decade of conflict, marked by the deliberate destruction of health infrastructure and the rise of cross-border governance mechanisms, offers c...
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Syria Middle East Conflict Dynamics Borderlands

Briefing paper

31st March 2025

Localisation of Research and Evidence Generation in Conflict...

Zaki Ullah, Pamela Combinido
Practical lessons and guidance from the X-Border Local Research Network (LRN)’s experience on supporting equitable, locally embedded research in fragi...
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South Asia and Southeast Asia Sahel Middle East and North Africa Middle East Horn of Africa and the Sahel Horn of Africa Conflict Dynamics Borderlands

Blog

30th March 2025

Beyond the unity of arenas: Understanding the agency and dom...

Clara May
Why we should challenge the idea that Shi’a militants are just Iranian proxies
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Middle East and North Africa Middle East Iraq Violent and Peaceful Behaviour

Briefing paper

19th March 2025

Double Dealers: Lebanon and the Risks of Captagon Traffickin...

Mohanad Hage Ali
Lebanon’s financial collapse and the Syrian conflict have allowed for the growth of an illicit economy, giving rise to a new breed of drug traffickers...
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Syria Middle East and North Africa Middle East Lebanon Transnational Flows Organised Crime Conflict Response Conflict Economies

Article

25th February 2025

Syria’s New Rulers Are Working To Unify Military Power

Rahaf Aldoughli
Of all the challenges currently facing post-war Syria, the integration of the country’s numerous and diverse armed factions into a single, disciplined...
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Syria Middle East and North Africa Middle East Governance Conflict Dynamics Borderlands

Article

25th February 2025

Leverage Beyond Yemen: Ansar Allah and Its Iraqi Alliances

Ibrahim Jalal
The Houthis are strengthening their regional ties, notably with the Popular Mobilization Forces, who offer them political, economic, military, and geo...
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Yemen Middle East and North Africa Middle East Violent Extremism Governance Conflict Dynamics Borderlands

Article

21st February 2025

We asked the people of Gaza how they saw their future – this...

Nils Mallock
Insights from a large-scale study of how Gazans and Israelis view each other and the future.
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Middle East and North Africa Middle East Violent and Peaceful Behaviour Conflict Response Conflict Dynamics Borderlands

Article

23rd December 2024

Influence abroad: Saudi Arabia replaces Salafism in its soft...

Hesham Alghannam
The kingdom aims to foster warmer international relationships by moving away from a religious approach that earned the royal family legitimacy; howeve...
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Middle East and North Africa Middle East Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Violent Extremism Governance

Article

23rd December 2024

Saudi-Emirati divergences lead Hadhramawt to a crossroad

Ibrahim Jalal
Competition between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi over influence in the Yemeni governorate could lead to conflict between the two sides or their proxies, which...
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Yemen Middle East and North Africa Middle East Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Conflict Response Conflict Dynamics

Article

19th December 2024

Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon: Reopening Lebanon’s sectari...

Mohamad El Kari
This XCEPT article examining the recent conflict through the lens of interactions between displaced families from Hezbollah-linked regions and their h...
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Middle East and North Africa Middle East Lebanon Violent Extremism Violent and Peaceful Behaviour Conflict Dynamics Borderlands

Article

21st November 2024

How supply chains fuel transnational conflict in the Middle ...

Renad Mansour, Hayder Al-Shakeri,
Transnational conflict in the Middle East is fuelled by both ‘legal’ and ‘illegal’ trade. Mapping these cross-border dynamics can help understand and ...
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Yemen Syria Middle East and North Africa Middle East Lebanon Iraq Iran Conflict Response Borderlands

Article

19th November 2024

Operation Aspides, or the peril of low expectations in Yemen

Ibrahim Jalal
For the foreseeable future, maritime trade through the Red Sea will remain a hostage to Ansar Allah and Iran. They will likely use this to secure conc...
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Yemen Middle East and North Africa Middle East Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Conflict Dynamics

Article

30th October 2024

The end of the ‘revolution’ (al-thawra) but not revolutionar...

Rahaf Aldoughli,
This XCEPT article investigates what drives individuals to join and remain loyal to armed groups amidst the chaos of the Syrian wars by focusing on th...
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Syria Middle East and North Africa Middle East Violent Extremism Violent and Peaceful Behaviour Conflict Response Conflict Dynamics Borderlands

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