Syria in Transition: What Comes Next?

Professor Owen Greene is a distinguished scholar in International Security and Development at the University of Bradford. With a prolific career spanning over two decades, he has authored or co-authored nine books and more than 240 research articles, reports, and chapters, and has edited over 15 volumes.

Dr H. A. Hellyer, an internationally recognised expert on geopolitics and security studies in the Middle East and Europe, has operated at the nexus of government policy and think-tanks for the past 20 years. He currently serves as Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, and Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, following prolonged tenures at Brookings and Carnegie. Formerly Deputy Convenor of the UK Government’s Taskforce on radicalisation, Dr Hellyer also served in the UK Foreign Office and held positions in Harvard and Cambridge universities. Dr Hellyer is the author of 10 books, 100s of op-ed articles and regularly consulted by media for his expertise. With heritage in England, Egypt, Sudan, the UAE & Morocco, Dr Hellyer lives & works in London, the Middle East, & Washington DC.

Salman Shaikh is the Founder and CEO of The Shaikh Group (TSG), a specialised peace-building organisation dedicated to mitigating and resolving violent conflict, with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Shaikh has extensive experience leading mediation and Track II diplomacy initiatives with local actors, governments, and key international actors – with a focus on Syria, the broader Levant, the Gulf region and Iran. Before establishing TSG, Shaikh was the director of the Brookings Institution’s Doha Center, where his research focused on conflict resolution, domestic policy, and geopolitics of the Middle East. Shaikh previously worked the United Nations in a number of offices. Shaikh also served as director for policy and research in the private office of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bin Nasser al-Missned, the Consort of the former Emir of the State of Qatar.

Paul is Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies at Bradford University. He is a biologist by original training, lecturing at Imperial College in plant pathology and working as a senior scientific officer in Uganda and Kenya. He moved to Peace Studies at Bradford University in 1979, working primarily on the changing causes of international conflict, especially in relation to socio-economic divisions and environmental limits to growth. He is international security adviser to Open Democracy, writes a weekly column, and is a frequent broadcaster. His most recent book is The Insecurity Trap, Hawthorn Press, 2024.