Charles Lister


Charles Lister is a senior fellow and director of the Syria and Counterterrorism and Extremism programs at the Middle East Institute.

Articles by Charles Lister
A silhouette of a soldier with a gun walking by a black-and-white mural.
A silhouette of a soldier with a gun walking by a black-and-white mural.
Israeli soldiers take part in a military exercise near Qatzrin in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on May 8, 2024.
Israeli soldiers take part in a military exercise near Qatzrin in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on May 8, 2024.
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters take part in a funeral in Syria's northeastern city of Hasakeh on February, 4, 2022.
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters take part in a funeral in Syria's northeastern city of Hasakeh on February, 4, 2022.
A framed picture of Bashar al-Assad is seen with its glass shattered on the ground.
A framed picture of Bashar al-Assad is seen with its glass shattered on the ground.
A torn picture of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen at the Bab al-Hawa border gate between Turkey and Syria on July 21, 2012.
A torn picture of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen at the Bab al-Hawa border gate between Turkey and Syria on July 21, 2012.
Fighters from a coalition of Islamist forces stand on a huge portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on March 29, 2015, in the Syrian city of Idlib.
Fighters from a coalition of Islamist forces stand on a huge portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on March 29, 2015, in the Syrian city of Idlib.
Syrians wave national flags and carry a large portrait of their president as they celebrate in the streets of the capital Damascus, a day after an election set to give the current President Bashar al-Assad a fourth term, on May 27, 2021.
Syrians wave national flags and carry a large portrait of their president as they celebrate in the streets of the capital Damascus, a day after an election set to give the current President Bashar al-Assad a fourth term, on May 27, 2021.
A U.S. military convoy takes part in a joint patrol with Turkish troops near the Syrian town of Tell Abyad along the border with Turkey, on Sept. 8, 2019.
A U.S. military convoy takes part in a joint patrol with Turkish troops near the Syrian town of Tell Abyad along the border with Turkey, on Sept. 8, 2019.
A man is seen in profile standing several yards away from a prison.
A man is seen in profile standing several yards away from a prison.
Assad gestures with his hand as he speaks in front of a microphone on a lectern. An Iraqi flag can be seen behind him.
Assad gestures with his hand as he speaks in front of a microphone on a lectern. An Iraqi flag can be seen behind him.
Rescue workers search for survivors in the rubble of a collapsed building in the town of Jableh in Syria's northwestern province of Latakia following an earthquake, on February 7, 2023.
Rescue workers search for survivors in the rubble of a collapsed building in the town of Jableh in Syria's northwestern province of Latakia following an earthquake, on February 7, 2023.
Portraits of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are hung on buildings at a polling station in Douma, near the capital Damascus on May 26, 2021.
Portraits of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are hung on buildings at a polling station in Douma, near the capital Damascus on May 26, 2021.
Josep Borrell stands in front of a microphone in front of a blue backdrop that reads "Supporting the future of Syria and the region"
Josep Borrell stands in front of a microphone in front of a blue backdrop that reads "Supporting the future of Syria and the region"
A woman looks down at her phone on a sidewalk near a banner showing Assad's and Putin's faces with the caption “Justice Prevails" on it in Arabic.
A woman looks down at her phone on a sidewalk near a banner showing Assad's and Putin's faces with the caption “Justice Prevails" on it in Arabic.
A Syrian woman walks with a boy past a banner showing Russian President Vladimir Putin shaking hands with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at the Abu al-Zuhur checkpoint in Idlib province, Syria, on June 1, 2018.
A Syrian woman walks with a boy past a banner showing Russian President Vladimir Putin shaking hands with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at the Abu al-Zuhur checkpoint in Idlib province, Syria, on June 1, 2018.