Policy Recommendations

2 June 2025

1- Regional Vision and Agency

Develop a Self-Defined Regional Strategy: Encourage Levantine and Iraqi states to craft a strategic vision rooted in shared regional interests, prioritising cooperation, shared sovereignty, and independence from external actors.
Empower Regional Agency Through the Forum: Use the Levant and Iraq Forum as a convening platform to support locally driven initiatives, coordinate dialogue, and incubate regionally owned policies, projects and partnerships.
Institutionalise Rotational, Decentralised Leadership: Adopt a flexible and inclusive Forum governance model with rotational leadership and flexible membership, enabling diverse regional institutions to drive thematic initiatives with transparency and coordination.

2- Governance, Inclusion, and Justice

Advance Inclusive and Decentralized Governance Models in the Levant and Iraq Promote geographically based democratic decentralization to enhance local ownership and responsive governance, especially in fragile states.
Ensure Inclusive Negotiations and Political Participation Guarantee structured inclusion of women, youth, minorities, and marginalized communities in peacebuilding and state-building efforts.
Strengthen Anti-Corruption and Institutional Accountability Support governance reforms that reduce militia influence, enhance civic trust, and build accountable institutions across the region.
Prioritize Transitional Justice and Legal Reform Establish credible mechanisms for accountability, reconciliation, and legal reform to address past abuses and prevent impunity.

3- Economic Recovery and Integration

Advance Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration: Prioritise pragmatic cross-border initiatives in energy, trade, agriculture, and digital infrastructure to boost shared development and interdependence.
Link Reconstruction to Inclusive Growth and Social Equity: Tie rebuilding efforts, particularly in Syria and Palestine, to equitable economic models, including SME support, job creation, and dignity-driven development.
Leverage Iraq and Syria as Economic Connectors: Utilise Iraq’s political transition and Syria’s geography to strengthen regional trade, refugee return, and labour mobility.

4- Civic Capacity, Identity, and Human Capital

Promote Inclusive Citizenship and Identity-Building: Advance reforms that construct pluralistic national identities and inclusive statehood, especially in post-conflict and divided societies.
Empower Youth, Women, and Marginalised Groups as Co-Creators: Move beyond representation to active participation by embedding these groups in regional strategy-making and policy development.
Foster Interfaith, Cultural, and Civic Exchange: Support cross-border programs that build trust, intercultural understanding, and civic collaboration across fractured communities.

5- Knowledge, Research, and Education

Launch Regional Research, Scholarship, and Exchange Programs: Create academic fellowships, summer schools, and cross-border partnerships to strengthen regional solidarity and policy capacity.
Establish a Joint Knowledge and Data Platform: Build an open-access digital hub to share research, data, and policy tools for informed, collaborative decision-making.
Create a Regional Network of Think Tanks: Promote collaboration among nonpartisan research institutions to generate policy solutions, shape discourse, and guide reform agendas.

6- Security, Reintegration, and Resilience

Foster a New Regional Security Architecture: Initiate inclusive dialogues to design a new security framework that addresses new regional dynamics and reduces geopolitical fragmentation.
Support Reintegration-Centered Security Reform (RDD Model): Integrate former fighters under vetted, accountable frameworks as part of national security sector reform, avoiding destabilising disarmament-first models.
Reframe Migration and Radicalisation as Strategic Issues: Address displacement and extremism through economic dignity, inclusive development, and cooperation with international partners.