Assad is gone. The scramble has begun. Turkey wants buffer zones. Iran wants its corridor. Russia wants its bases. The Gulf states want influence without commitment. Every outside power has a stake and an agenda. The Syrians are, once again, the last consideration.
Middle powers are the states too large to be ignored and too independent to be controlled. India, Turkey and Brazil are each pursuing strategic autonomy — aligning with multiple partners, refusing bloc discipline and extracting leverage from their ambiguity.
