

Charles Lister
Charles Lister is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Extremism and Counterterrorism Program at the Middle East Institute (MEI). Lister’s work focuses primarily on the conflict in Syria, including as a member of the MEI-convened Syria Study Group; and on issues of terrorism and insurgency across the Levant. He is the author of the critically acclaimed book, “The Syrian Jihad: Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and the Evolution of an Insurgency” (Oxford University Press, 2016).
Latest Articles

Turkey’s High Stakes in Northwest Syria
After weeks of intense conflict in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, a cease-fire is finally in place. Though violations continue, it appears that the two guarantors – Turkey and Russia – remain determined to see it stick, at least for now.

Jihad Goes Local: Addressing the Root Causes
The rise and fall of the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed territorial caliphate in Syria and Iraq has dominated the world’s attention and that