The Carter Center supports research and dialogue to prevent further violence in Syria with the aim of supporting reform, economic recovery, reconstruction, and the return of refugees. Above, Syrian children in a refugee camp in Turkey on the Syrian-Turkish border. (Photo: Thomas Koch/Shutterstock.com)

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Since conflict erupted in March 2011, 11.7 million Syrians have been displaced, either within Syria or in neighboring countries and beyond. More than half a million have been killed, a third of the country’s housing stock has been damaged, economic development has been set back some 40 years, and millions of children have been deprived of schooling. Unemployment in Syria is rampant, and some 80% of the population lives on less than US$3.10 a day, leaving millions of youth who came of age during the war susceptible to recruitment by violent extremist organizations.

The war in Syria has largely come to an end, except in Idlib and other territorial pockets not under control of the Syrian government. Through successive military advances and surrender agreements over the course of 2018, the Syrian government and its allies have all but eliminated the potential for regime change by force and have reasserted government authority over most of its territory.

The transformed conflict requires peacebuilding efforts that acknowledge the reality of the Syrian government’s standing while leveraging possible incremental change and eventual full-scale recovery for the whole of Syria, inclusive of all Syrian territory and citizens.

About the Project

Having been engaged in Syria since before 2011, The Carter Center has long-term relationships with all stakeholders and is uniquely capable of building trust among Syrians and between Syrians and the international community. The Carter Center's work in Syria is designed to bring stakeholders together to develop visions for a political resolution to the conflict and to channel their ideas to top-level mediation processes. The Center also monitors, documents, and analyzes levels of violence throughout the country. The Center’s advantages and long-standing promotion of realistic policy goals in Syria make it particularly well-placed to meet current peacebuilding needs for purposes of reforms, the peaceful reintegration of the country, economic recovery, reconstruction, and refugee return.

Currently, the Support for Peace in Syria Initiative proceeds along two interrelated lines: conflict transformation dialogue and conflict research, analysis, and documentation.

Conflict Transformation Dialogue