The Politics of Early Recovery Aid in Syria. Is It Actually Reconstruction Aid?

Multiple questions were raised after the US Treasury in November 2021 eased restrictions on the distribution of "early recovery" aid in Syria. The easing came as an apparent concession to Russia, in exchange for allowing cross-border aid to continue flowing to northwest Syria. The Operations and Policy Center (OPC) and the Atlantic Council jointly published this policy brief in an attempt to answer three questions. 1) What is “early recovery” aid and how is it different from reconstruction? 2) Who will benefit from the easing of restrictions? 3) What does this move say, if anything, about America's approach to sanctions or its whole-of-Syria strategy?