By James M. Dorsey

Decimating Hezbollah and ousting President Bashar al-Assad were the first steps in a Middle Eastern power struggle that is likely to define not only who wields the most influence in Syria but also who will emerge as regional hegemons.

Turkey, Israel, and Iran are prime candidates, with countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar playing catch up, at least in Syria.

The line-up in Syria reflects the likely longer-term divvying up of influence regionally in a complex jigsaw puzzle. To read further, listen to the podcast, and/or watch the video, please go to https://jamesmdorsey.substack.com/p/the-middle-easts-new-jigsaw-puzzle

By James M. Dorsey

is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies as Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, co-director of the Institute of Fan Culture of the University of Würzburg and the author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer, and a forthcoming book with the same title.