Heiko Wimmen Project Director, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon Beirut, Lebanon Please submit all media inquiries to media@crisisgroup.org or call +32 (0) 2 536 00 71 Crisis Group Role Heiko Wimmen oversees Crisis Group's Iraq/Syria/Lebanon project. Prior to joining Crisis Group, he was an associate researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin. He has also published with the Carnegie Middle East Center and MERIP, and recently oversaw an edited academic volume on Elite Change and New Social Mobilization in the Arab World. Heiko, who is German, has lived in the region since 1994, mostly in Beirut where he currently resides. Areas of Expertise Domestic politics of Lebanon, Syrian civil war, post-war Iraq Sectarianism and identity politics in the Middle East Divided societies Social movements and political activism Civil society in post-conflict institution building EU policies towards the Arab world Professional Background Fellow and research associate with German Institute for International and Security Affairs 2009-2015 Project manager and deputy director of the Beirut Office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, 2004-2009 Professional fellow of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), 2002-2004 Independent Journalist and Broadcast Producer in Beirut, 1996-2002 Languages German English Arabic French In The News 6 Jun 2020 With the US Caesar Act coming into force, doing business with Syria will become even more difficult and risky. Arab News Heiko Wimmen Project Director, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon 25 Sep 2019 The world apparently has long since tired of the war, and resigned itself to frozen conflict, with a nationwide cease-fire as the best possible scenario. Associated Press Heiko Wimmen Project Director, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon 17 Aug 2019 The longer Damascus is excluded from certain areas of the country, the more facts are being created on the ground. Damascus has a lot of work to do in that respect, it could take a long time. The Arab Weekly Heiko Wimmen Project Director, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon 21 Dec 2018 [U.S. withdrawal from Syria] basically means you throw the Kurds under the bus. The only thing the Kurds can do is throw themselves into the arms of the regime. TIME Heiko Wimmen Project Director, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon 1 Mar 2018 Turkey has tried to drive wedges into [Hei’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)] because they see [the group] as very problematic. Al Jazeera Heiko Wimmen Project Director, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon 31 Jan 2018 Saying that Afrin will be returned to its rightful owners will leave many people wondering if they can return after the fighting [between Turkey and Kurdish forces in northern Syria] is over. AFP Heiko Wimmen Project Director, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon Latest Updates Commentary / Middle East & North Africa 22 January 2020 Pulling Lebanon Back from the Precipice After months of mass protests, a new Lebanese government may take office soon. Yet it must make reforms that strike at the very vested interests that appointed it. Outsiders should give the cabinet a chance to succeed but plan for emergency aid if it fails. Q&A / Middle East & North Africa 21 October 2019 Lebanon’s Revolt Austerity measures have triggered countrywide unrest in Lebanon. In this Q&A, Crisis Group expert Heiko Wimmen says the prime minister’s emergency measures may be too little, too late. Most protesters appear bent on the government’s resignation if not the political system‘s complete overhaul. Op-Ed / Middle East & North Africa 9 October 2019 Hezbollah and Israel: Deterrence at the Edge of Destruction After 13 years of maintaining the status quo, Israel and Hezbollah are now negotiating new rules of engagement. Originally published in Middle East Eye Op-Ed / Middle East & North Africa 3 September 2019 Keep the Calm in Lebanon The Israel-Lebanon border has been relatively quiet for the past 13 years. The latest tit-for-tat threatens the balance. Originally published in The American Prospect Commentary / Middle East & North Africa 9 May 2018 In Lebanon’s Elections, More of the Same is Mostly Good News Lebanon’s elections yielded few surprises, says Crisis Group’s Lebanon, Syria and Iraq Project Director Heiko Wimmen in this Q&A. Hizbollah is slightly stronger and its main rival weaker. But the polls do represent a return to normalcy. Load more