Daniel Neep

2.5 hours on the tarmac at IAD with @AmericanAir due to a technical fault with the plane to CLT. And then 1.5 hours after deplaning to get our baggage back! Our family vacation has been ruined.

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.

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

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. aljumhuriya.net/en/2026/05/29/…

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

“‘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 aljumhuriya.net/?p=64306

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

Finally, a small step in the right direction Andy Burnham to back electoral reform if he becomes prime minister theguardian.com/politics/2026/…

Great opportunity for PhD candidates in social sciences and humanities 👇

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.

I’ve always been baffled by the eery silence on Israel’s nuclear arsenal in the US. Perhaps that might start to change? washingtonpost.com/national-secur…

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

This essential book (by @neepd) is filling in the gaps in my understanding of Syrian history, adding flesh to the bones... Fascinating, and accessibly written.

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: brandeis.edu/crown/events/2…

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

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