For the international community, realizing the magnitude of the challenges and the spiralling economic costs, that include ripple effects on stability and foreign investment in the region, may be what it takes.
It is surely not overly pessimistic to anticipate tension between Kurd and Sunni Arab in the months and years to come, almost regardless of the outcome of the current fighting. But Kurds are looking like much the best sort of neighbour in this desperate region.
Desperate not to let the Assad regime fall, Tehran continues to support and strengthen connections with its ally in Damascus. What unites them in this alliance?
Syrian women refugees cite rape, or the fear of rape, as one of the main reasons they fled. A coalition of grassroots women and international advocates has formed to integrate services and advocacy, enabling women refugees to participate in formulating the political future they want to see
The depiction of Lebanon as the most brittle and even artificial nation in its region is based more on myth than reality, says Hazem Saghieh.
The lightning advance of Islamist fighters across northern Iraq has dangerous echoes of the founding event of the "war on terror" .
It is in everyone’s long-term interest to stop purposefully undermining developing democratic processes.
Much has happened in the Middle East in the last four years, but in Europe, the development of the state and of democracy took four centuries and many wars.
Arab Awakening's columnists offer their weekly perspective on what is happening on the ground in the Middle East. Leading the week, Syrian conflict transforms security regulations in Jordan.
Syria's recent election is significant not because of its predictable outcome or because it has anything to do with democracy. Instead, it reflects the regime's consolidation of legitimacy and confidence against an embattled opposition.
As fighters join Al Nusra and ISIL at an alarming rate, the Jordanian government responds with new anti-terrorism measures.
