Regional power plays, Kurdish conflict, and tech-driven repression

This cluster explores how the Syrian conflict sits at the center of a broader regional security web involving Turkey, Kurdish armed groups, and great‑power policy debates. It highlights Turkey’s strategic ambiguity over nuclear weapons, the evolving conflict with Kurdish forces, and proposals for reshaping Syria in a post‑Assad scenario. The posts also quantify the devastating human and economic toll of the Syrian civil war and examine how Middle Eastern governments are turning to AI to predict unrest and suppress dissent. Together, they show how hard security, humanitarian catastrophe, and digital authoritarianism are increasingly intertwined across the region.