The new Syrian administration began life with supreme tactical daring. But it will take more than military prowess to hold together this fractured state.

To keep together a tapestry of Alawites, Kurds, Yazidis, Druze and others, it will require a grand pax between the region's biggest players.

Hungary claims a certain status as a 'keystone state' in central Europe. In other words: a country that punches above its weight geopolitically, and is super-connected to the region.

Ibrahim Mammadov, a Researcher at the Danube Institute, is a citizen of what he considers to be another keystone state within its own region: Azerbaijan.

Together, Mammadov points out, the two countries represent a unique geopolitical circuit that encompasses all the key players in any potential Syrian peace deal: Iran, Israel, Russia, Turkey, the US, and to some extent the EU. Could Hungarian-Azeri shuttle diplomacy be the best way to bind together the bigger players?

After all, as the Danube Institute's Director of Research, Calum Nicholson, finds out, the key skill set of mid-ranking keystone states is precisely that they are honest brokers. They can touch the third rail of power without raising the suspicion of others.

You can read Ibrahim's original paper on the Danube Institute's website, here:

https://danubeinstitute.hu/api/v1/companies/381/files/5122155/download

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