Alexander Langlois
Over a shocking week, the brutal regime of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has collapsed in Syria after nearly fourteen years of civil war. Yet while the fall of the Damascus government certainly marks a generational flashpoint for the region—the likes of which will reshape West Asia in unpredictable and likely unprecedented ways—the crisis itself is far from over.
Indeed, as Syria enters a new phase, international actors should cast aside geopolitical rivalries and grand visions of micromanaged state-building and let the Syrian people lead the way. The country’s revitalization should be a Syrian-owned, Syrian-led effort rather than an extension of the unhelpful policies that have prolonged the fighting.
The Fall of the Lion
Assad fled Damascus for political asylum in Moscow as opposition forces reached the gates of the city from the north and south, and every governorate erupted into a state of revolt. His flight decisively ended one of the oldest authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and North Africa—an outcome most analysts believed was completely out of the picture mere weeks ago.
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