Subnational Governance and U.S. Interagency Strategy in North and East Syria

Key Points

  • This report offers an analysis of governance in North and East Syria

    and recommendations for the development of a unified interagency strategy for American policy in Syria,

    a cornerstone for regional stability.
  • The conditions for good governance are already present in north and east Syria, in the form of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES)
  • American policy should focus on providing support to AANES, which has been effective and fair in provision of services, gender equality, religious freedoms, and ethnic tolerance and participation.
  • By supporting the AANES, America can avoid costly nation-building efforts, create long-term stability in Syria, and achieve strategic regional objectives.
  • The State Department’s recent announcement that the U.S. will issue a general license to “facilitate private economic investment activity in non-regime held areas liberated from ISIS” represents a positive step in the right direction, but it opens the door for potential abuses, and there is still more to be done.
  • This report is a product of a three-month study into how the AANES governs and provides for its people, conducted by the Freedom Research Foundation.