The civil war in Syria seems a never-ending story of conflicting interests and dynamics between domestic, regional, and international actors with changing preferences. This complexity makes it very difficult to achieve durable peace. Could federalism provide an answer? This and other questions are discussed in the newest entry of our IFF Working Paper Online series, authored by Lucas Swinnen.

Lucas Swinnen holds a master’s degree in Arabism and Islamology from the KU Leuven in Belgium, as well as a second master’s from CIFE in Advanced European and International Studies: Mediterranean Studies. Currently, he works at the Belgian Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons.