Daniel Neep

Senior Fellow & Director of Publications @ArabCenterWDC. Non-resident Fellow @CrownCenterMES. Opinions mine alone.

[Aaron Y. Zelin @azelin]

Finally finished Daniel Neep’s (@neepd) exhaustive history of modern Syria. A must-read and a ton of lessons for the current stage. Biggest takeaway is how much Syrian history rhymes with itself. Hopefully, the new authorities appreciate that history within the current stakes.

[Daniel Neep @neepd]

@Yassinhs's comment that the book “deserves to be made available to Syrians and to Arabic-language readers” is also deeply meaningful.

[Daniel Neep @neepd]

Syria: A Modern History - “rich in detail, free of reductionism, and notably free of partisan bias”

I'm immensely grateful to @Yassinhs for this generous and serious engagement with my book for @aljumhuriya_eng.

https://t.co/iZRTu4zWxQ

[Yassin Al Haj Saleh @Yassinhs]

تعليقي على كتاب دانيال نيب: سورية، تاريخ حديث
@neepd

[Al-Jumhuriya English @aljumhuriya_eng]

“‘Syria: A Modern History’ appears at a timely moment. It deserves to be made available to Syrians and to Arabic-language readers.”

✍️Yassin al-Haj Saleh

https://t.co/NS5MWyIbOk

[Alonso Gurmendi @Alonso_GD]

Britain’s higher education system, one of the finest in the world, is being slowly, relentlessly, destroyed

[Daniel Neep @neepd]

Finally, a small step in the right direction

Andy Burnham to back electoral reform if he becomes prime minister https://t.co/mXxv3KnpUR

[Arab Center Washington DC @ArabCenterDC]

Great opportunity for PhD candidates in social sciences and humanities 👇

[Chris Blattman @cblatts]

My hypothesis: US university education was a massively successful export industry (foreign students paying tuition + housing + living expenses is literally classified as exports) and Trump admin collapsed this demand.

[Daniel Neep @neepd]

I’ve always been baffled by the eery silence on Israel’s nuclear arsenal in the US. Perhaps that might start to change? https://t.co/RrNnMG6rST

[Daniel Neep @neepd]

https://t.co/6tyB3tewOP

[Daniel Neep @neepd]

Thought for the day

[Daniel Neep @neepd]

@qunfuz2 Thank you Robin, I’m glad you’re enjoying the book!

[Crown Center for Middle East Studies @MES_Crown]

THURSDAY: Understanding Syria: Past, Present, and Future: A Crown Seminar with Daniel Neep, in conversation with Omar Dahi, on the occasion of the publication of Syria: A Modern History

Syria’s modern history is often explained through political polarization and communal conflict. Such accounts, however, tend to overlook another important dimension: the economic and geographical dynamics of uneven development. In this Crown Seminar celebrating the publication of his new book Syria: A Modern History, Daniel Neep shows how these inequalities have repeatedly fueled rebellion and repression—from Ottoman reforms and French rule to Baʿathist state-building, the 2011 uprising, and the Assad regime’s collapse in 2024. In conversation with Omar Dahi, Neep examines how the modern Syrian state was forged not only through sectarian politics, but through struggles over land, resources, and regional power, offering a new lens on Syria’s past and its political future.

Click here for more information and to register for virtual attendance: https://t.co/flfsiAFOAi

[Daniel Neep @neepd]

https://t.co/njrsJBktqN

[Daniel Neep @neepd]

What can Turkey’s democrats learn from Viktor Orbán’s ballot box defeat in Hungary?

Link in next post

[Daniel Neep @neepd]

A US city of 500k people is about to run out of water.

[Neena Satija @neenareports]

NEW: Absent a biblical rainfall event this summer, Corpus Christi will be the first American city in modern history to run out of water. 💦
Schools & hospitals hope to drill wells. Lawns are dry. How will petrochemical plants handle it? We don’t know.
https://t.co/psk7ZU2Jfa

[Daniel Neep @neepd]

https://t.co/EcjTxb4qaV

[Daniel Neep @neepd]

Enjoyed chatting about my new book on Syria with @ArabCenterDC Exec. Dir. Khalil Jahshan for our Five Questions podcast!

Link in comments

[Daniel Neep @neepd]

Link here https://t.co/NE6vGyeGxt

[Daniel Neep @neepd]

With state capacity decimated, how can Middle East governments effectively respond to crises precipitated by the Iran war? Marc Lynch for @ArabCenterDC on the shocking human and societal costs of the conflict