Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Philip Eliason
Syria’s De Facto Leader Faces Home Truths
It was only a matter of time until the Haya’t Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) gunmen of Syria’s post-Assad interim government took into their own hands violence against non-Sunni Muslims. Reports emerged early on 9 March about large scale round ups, home invasions, and subsequent street executions of Alawite Syrians.
Daily review 17/03/2025
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other … Related Posts
France is prominent in efforts to shape Syria’s future, again
As Syria and international partners negotiate the country’s future, France has sought to be a convening power. While France has a history of influence in the Middle East, it will have to balance competing Syrian and international interests. After the fall of Damascus on 8 December 2024, Paris moved rapidly to personalise ties with factions in Syria that it wants to see accepted and engaged in Syria’s national reunification and reconstruction.
Syria’s de facto leader faces home truths
It was only a matter of time until the Haya’t Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) gunmen of Syria’s post-Assad interim government resorted to violence against non-Sunni Muslims. Reports emerged early on 9 March about large-scale round-ups, home invasions and subsequent street executions of Alawite Syrians.
Writing is communicating - inside government and out
A senior Exxon executive once told me that for presentations to its new business development committee, the company had learned to look at the facts and analysis and ignore the person speaking. The point? The quality of written communication outlives a presentation and even the writers themselves. Writing is focused on a readership, a message and timeliness for its reception.
Keeping a Watch on Human Rights in New Syria
Syria’s post-conflict recovery is at risk without its new regime re-establishing human rights and applying them. The United Nations is active in Syria. However, it remains focussed on delivering accountability to former Assad regime personnel who violated human rights, ignored International Humanitarian Law, and carried out large scale dispossession of property held by civilians in areas raged over by civil war.
The Losers of 2024: The UK, Germany, Hamas, and More
Major nations, industries, and movements grappled with setbacks in 2024, redefining their global roles. These losses underscore the shifting balance of power and influence worldwide. 2024 had some notable losers among countries, companies, and trends—all impacting international relations. Several countries, the European Union, markets, and companies lost policy stability, influence, or value to a degree worth describing.
The Winners of 2024: US Exceptionalism, China, the Houthis, and More
France and its Paris Olympics, Donald Trump, and Yemeni mountain separatists were not the only or biggest winners in 2024. Emphatic victories and losses marked a year that will shape the international landscape for decades to come. Here are our assessments of some of the big winners. Israel: Strategically, the Jewish State has finished the year in the strongest position yet, eclipsing even the victory of 1967 that left its Arab neighbours with smouldering militaries and internal confusion.
Can Syria’s Islamists change their spots?
Hope suppresses the reality of the future of Syria. Pundits were wrong about the Arab Spring, projecting perspectives into uprisings that weren’t or couldn’t be democratising. It is happening again. A US delegation that recently visited Damascus and said that it had consulted with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) stretches credulity.
Syrian boss Ahmed al-Sharaa: A leopard in a fix
Hope conceals the reality of the future of Syria. Most international experts were wrong about the Arab Spring, projecting their aspirations into uprisings that couldn’t be democratising. It is happening again. Western press coverage from mid-December’s fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime to the New York Times on 5 January focus on Syria’s post-Assad mix of euphoria and opportunism.
Putting First Nations Perspectives into Foreign Policy - Australian Institute of International Affairs
Considering a First Nations approach to foreign policy requires more than a simple cultural extension of Aboriginal heritage, however pleasing to foreign dignitaries. The good news is that, with the right leadership, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is equipped to begin a more inclusive process.
Finding the Source of Australian National Strength in the China Context
Two starkly different viewpoints published in The Australian over Canberra’s posture toward China show the contrasting approaches to strategic uncertainty and perception of threat from Beijing. The first article was posited by Hugh White on November 21 and the second was put forward by Peter Jennings two days later.
What Is the UAE’s Approach to Humanitarian Assistance?
Afghan refugees in Athens, Greece on 9/22/2015. © Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock Early investment by Abu Dhabi in a rapid humanitarian response hub paved the way for an Emirati regional leadership role in humanitarian affairs and a model for future multilateral operations. The Emirates Humanitarian City (EHC), based in Abu Dhabi, has now moved from its founding mission, providing urgent humanitarian post-disaster support, to assisting evacuees being repatriated during a global pandemic.
Yemen: the search for leverage after Afghanistan
Concerns are growing about the ramifications of the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The ripple effects of the pull-out and its urgent consequences have bolstered Islamist ambitions – not only in Afghanistan but beyond. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of a “real danger (that) terrorist groups may feel enthusiastic about what happened and have ambitions beyond what they thought a few months ago”.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Philip
Contact Philip, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack