Kamran Bokhari, PhD is Senior Director of the Eurasian Security & Prosperity Portfolio at the New Lines Institute for Strategy & Policy. Previously, he was Director of Analytical Development at New Lines Institute. Dr. Bokhari is also a national security and foreign policy specialist at the University of Ottawa’s Professional Development Institute. Bokhari has served as the Central Asia Studies Course Coordinator at U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute. He was a Fellow with the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. Dr. Bokhari has also been a Senior Consultant with The World Bank. He has 15 years of experience in the private sector intelligence space during which he provided intellectual leadership in the publishing of cutting-edge geopolitical analysis & forecasts. Bokhari is the author of Political Islam in the Age of Democratization (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013). He has also contributed chapters to edited volumes: Wars of Ideas: Theology, Interpretation and Power in the Muslim World (Rowman Littlefield, 2021); Strategic Analysis in Support of International Policy Making (Rowman Littlefield, 2017), Reassessing Order and Disorder in the Middle East: Regional Imbalance or Disintegration? (Rowman Littlefield, 2017), Oxford Handbook on Islam & Politics (Oxford University, 2013) & Debating Moderate Islam: The Geopolitics of Islam and the West (University of Utah, 2007). His core areas of expertise are: Geopolitical/Intelligence Analysis of the Middle East, South Asia, & Central Asia, Governance, Democratization, Civil-Military Relations, & Comparative Political Systems, Geosectarianism, Countering Violent Extremism/Counterterrorism/Deradicalization & Islamist/Muslim Moderation. Dr. Bokhari has briefed various US, Canadian & UK government agencies, published thousands of analytical/theoretical/op-ed articles, presented papers in int’l academic/policy forums & given hundreds of interviews to leading global media organizations. Bokhari earned his doctorate from the University of Westminster after successfully defending his thesis ‘Moderations Among Salafists & Jihadists’. He tweets at @KamranBokhari.
no
574523
00:00
start listening
Episode 394
Kamran Bokhari
The Fall of Damascus and the New Geopolitics of the Middle East | Kamran Bokhari
Kamran Bokhari, PhD is Senior Director of the Eurasian Security & Prosperity Portfolio at the New Lines Institute for Strategy & Policy. Previously, he was Director of Analytical Development at New Lines Institute. Dr. Bokhari is also a national security and foreign policy specialist at the University of Ottawa’s Professional Development Institute. Bokhari has served as the Central Asia Studies Course Coordinator at U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute. He was a Fellow with the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. Dr. Bokhari has also been a Senior Consultant with The World Bank. He has 15 years of experience in the private sector intelligence space during which he provided intellectual leadership in the publishing of cutting-edge geopolitical analysis & forecasts. Bokhari is the author of Political Islam in the Age of Democratization (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013). He has also contributed chapters to edited volumes: Wars of Ideas: Theology, Interpretation and Power in the Muslim World (Rowman Littlefield, 2021); Strategic Analysis in Support of International Policy Making (Rowman Littlefield, 2017), Reassessing Order and Disorder in the Middle East: Regional Imbalance or Disintegration? (Rowman Littlefield, 2017), Oxford Handbook on Islam & Politics (Oxford University, 2013) & Debating Moderate Islam: The Geopolitics of Islam and the West (University of Utah, 2007). His core areas of expertise are: Geopolitical/Intelligence Analysis of the Middle East, South Asia, & Central Asia, Governance, Democratization, Civil-Military Relations, & Comparative Political Systems, Geosectarianism, Countering Violent Extremism/Counterterrorism/Deradicalization & Islamist/Muslim Moderation. Dr. Bokhari has briefed various US, Canadian & UK government agencies, published thousands of analytical/theoretical/op-ed articles, presented papers in int’l academic/policy forums & given hundreds of interviews to leading global media organizations. Bokhari earned his doctorate from the University of Westminster after successfully defending his thesis ‘Moderations Among Salafists & Jihadists’. He tweets at @KamranBokhari.
In Episode 394 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with geopolitical analyst and forecaster Kamran Bokhari about the fall of Damascus and the implications of Bashar al-Assad’s ouster in Syria for the balance of power in the Middle East.
Kamran last came on the podcast a year ago to discuss the violence ignited by Hamas’ October 7th attacks, the nature and scope of Iranian involvement, and how various regional actors, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the Houthis, and Hezbollah were exploiting the growing disorder for their own advantage as the Biden administration struggled to stabilize a region that was on the verge of another major war.
That war has seemingly come and gone, leaving Iran’s influence network along the Shia crescent from Damascus to Beirut, along with its proxies and affiliates in utter devastation or full-on retreat. Assad’s departure and the fall of his regime in Syria are the equivalent of a geopolitical earthquake and are already dramatically changing the balance of power in the Middle East.
Kamran and Demetri spend the first hour of this episode recapping these recent events, enumerating the key players who expect a seat at the table for any negotiation over Syria’s future, why the center of gravity in the Sunni Muslim world is shifting from Riyadh to Ankara, and what all of this means for Iran and the strategic vision that has guided the Islamic revolution since 1979.
In the second hour, Kofinas and Bokhari go one by one through every major country that will be materially affected by the outcome in Syria. They discuss the consequences and opportunities for Turkey, the new threats and challenges posed to Israel, what this new reality means for the Saudis, the interests of the United States and Russia, and why el-Sisi’s regime in Egypt may be the next major Arab government to come under pressure in the years to come.
You can subscribe to our premium content and access our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports at HiddenForces.io/subscribe.
If you want to join in on the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community, which includes Q&A calls with guests, access to special research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners, you can also do that on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe.
If you enjoyed listening to today’s episode of Hidden Forces, you can help support the show by doing the following:
Kamran Bokhari, PhD is Senior Director of the Eurasian Security & Prosperity Portfolio at the New Lines Institute for Strategy & Policy. Previously, he was Director of Analytical Development at New Lines Institute. Dr. Bokhari is also a national security and foreign policy specialist at the University of Ottawa’s Professional Development Institute. Bokhari has served as the Central Asia Studies Course Coordinator at U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute. He was a Fellow with the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. Dr. Bokhari has also been a Senior Consultant with The World Bank. He has 15 years of experience in the private sector intelligence space during which he provided intellectual leadership in the publishing of cutting-edge geopolitical analysis & forecasts. Bokhari is the author of Political Islam in the Age of Democratization (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013). He has also contributed chapters to edited volumes: Wars of Ideas: Theology, Interpretation and Power in the Muslim World (Rowman Littlefield, 2021); Strategic Analysis in Support of International Policy Making (Rowman Littlefield, 2017), Reassessing Order and Disorder in the Middle East: Regional Imbalance or Disintegration? (Rowman Littlefield, 2017), Oxford Handbook on Islam & Politics (Oxford University, 2013) & Debating Moderate Islam: The Geopolitics of Islam and the West (University of Utah, 2007). His core areas of expertise are: Geopolitical/Intelligence Analysis of the Middle East, South Asia, & Central Asia, Governance, Democratization, Civil-Military Relations, & Comparative Political Systems, Geosectarianism, Countering Violent Extremism/Counterterrorism/Deradicalization & Islamist/Muslim Moderation. Dr. Bokhari has briefed various US, Canadian & UK government agencies, published thousands of analytical/theoretical/op-ed articles, presented papers in int’l academic/policy forums & given hundreds of interviews to leading global media organizations. Bokhari earned his doctorate from the University of Westminster after successfully defending his thesis ‘Moderations Among Salafists & Jihadists’. He tweets at @KamranBokhari.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.