January, 2026

• 26 January

  Iran Update, January 23, 2026

  

  Toplines The Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) may agree to extend the US-mediated ceasefire, according to Kurdish sources and mediators. The Syrian government and SDF agreed to a ceasefire on January 20 that gave SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi four days to secure other SDF leaders’ agreement to …

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• 26 January

  Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, January 22, 2026

  

  Toplines Note: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with US envoys in Moscow ended after the completion of this update and will be covered in ISW’s January 23 report. Ukrainian and US officials continued meetings in Switzerland on January 22. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with US President Donald Trump at …

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• 26 January

  Iran Update, January 22, 2026

  

  Toplines The Syrian government surrounded Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters in Kobani, likely as the first part of a multi-stage operation to reduce the SDF forces there. Civilians have fled to Kobani as fighting approached their villages south of Kobani, leading to a larger than standard population there.[1] Civilians in …

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• 26 January

  La scission interne et irréversible au sein de l’Occident

  

  Une transformation fondamentale de toute l’architecture mondiale Alexandre Douguine sur la fracture irréversible de l’Occident, les gambades impériales de Trump, et l’émergence de cinq pôles occidentaux concurrents. Entretien avec Alexandre Dougine pour l’émission «Escalation» de Sputnik TV. Animateur : Les fêtes de début 2026 ont apporté une nouvelle qui évoque …

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• 26 January

  Between speech and reality. On the left and the SDF.

  In the past few days, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced the state of the general call, calling on Kurds around the world to go to Syria to defend what was described as its “last strongholds.” This call has received a clear positive interaction, especially among the radical left, a …

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• 26 January

  The Kabul Moment: Reading the Structural Collapse of the SDF Project

  

  The rapid shifts unfolding in the Euphrates region offer a textbook illustration of what political-science literature terms the “end of functional roles” for non-state actors. After years of military and political expansion, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have arrived at a moment of structural unravelling and dissolution into the institutions …

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• 26 January

  Decentralization and Federalism in Syria: Governance Tools or Pathways to Fragmentation?

  

  In Syrian political discourse since 2012, the concepts of federalism and political decentralization have been presented as technical solutions to a chronic governance crisis, or as “rational” exits for managing diversity and containing collapse. However, this framing, despite its superficial appeal, ignores the true context from which these projects emerged. …

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• 26 January

  “Fraternity of Peoples”: The Kurdish Autonomous Administration Project Born Rejected

  

  With the Autonomous Administration retreating back into the confines of Hasakah province, the project is reverting to its earliest form: a structure rooted in the Kurdish street. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have all but collapsed, leaving the People’s Protection Units (YPG) to stand alone. Amid widespread fear of massacres—after …

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• 26 January

  Tensions Between Syrian Government and SDF Leave Syrian Prisons Vulnerable

  

  Despite the announcement of a ceasefire between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurdish militia said that fighting continues near Raqqa, and that clashes are leading to an “extremely dangerous development,” which leaves prisons and detention centers vulnerable. While it is unclear how many individuals have …

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• 26 January

  Kurdish Collapse in Northeast Syria? Key Things to Watch

  

  Washington Institute experts assess the immediate fallout of the Syrian government’s advance into SDF-held parts of the northeast, including mutual disinformation campaigns, implications for the Islamic State threat, the terms of new agreements with the Kurds, and the calculus of outside actors like the United States, Israel, and Turkey. Cutting …

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