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 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.
A smiling Bashar al-Assad faces a crowd of journalists with microphones.
A smiling Bashar al-Assad faces a crowd of journalists with microphones.
Islamic fighters from the al-Qaida group in the Levant, Al-Nusra Front, wave their movement's flag as they parade at the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp, south of Damascus, to denounce Israels military offensive on the Gaza Strip, on July 28, 2014.
Islamic fighters from the al-Qaida group in the Levant, Al-Nusra Front, wave their movement's flag as they parade at the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp, south of Damascus, to denounce Israels military offensive on the Gaza Strip, on July 28, 2014.
Syrian youths walk past a billboard showing a picture of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad wearing sunglasses while dressed in a Field Marshal's camouflage fatigues, on display in the centre of the capital Damascus on July 9, 2018, with a caption below reading in Arabic: "If the country's dust speaks, it will say Bashar al-Assad."
Syrian youths walk past a billboard showing a picture of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad wearing sunglasses while dressed in a Field Marshal's camouflage fatigues, on display in the centre of the capital Damascus on July 9, 2018, with a caption below reading in Arabic: "If the country's dust speaks, it will say Bashar al-Assad."
Fighters from Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate Al-Nusra Front drive in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo flying Islamist flags as they head to a frontline, on May 26, 2015. Once Syria's economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been divided between government control in the city's west and rebel control in the east since shortly after fighting there began in mid-2012. AFP PHOTO / AMC / FADI AL-HALABI        (Photo credit should read Fadi al-Halabi/AFP/Getty Images)
Fighters from Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate Al-Nusra Front drive in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo flying Islamist flags as they head to a frontline, on May 26, 2015. Once Syria's economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been divided between government control in the city's west and rebel control in the east since shortly after fighting there began in mid-2012. AFP PHOTO / AMC / FADI AL-HALABI (Photo credit should read Fadi al-Halabi/AFP/Getty Images)
Fighters from the al-Qaida group in the Levant, Al-Nusra Front,  stand among destroyed buildings near the front line with Syrian government solders in  Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp, south of Damascus on September 22, 2014. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says more than 180,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict since it erupted in March 2011, while the United Nations puts the figure at 191,000. AFP PHOTO/ RAMI AL-SAYED        (Photo credit should read RAMI AL-SAYED/AFP/Getty Images)
Fighters from the al-Qaida group in the Levant, Al-Nusra Front, stand among destroyed buildings near the front line with Syrian government solders in Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp, south of Damascus on September 22, 2014. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says more than 180,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict since it erupted in March 2011, while the United Nations puts the figure at 191,000. AFP PHOTO/ RAMI AL-SAYED (Photo credit should read RAMI AL-SAYED/AFP/Getty Images)