Nearly a year and a half after the fall of the Assad regime, Syria faces enormous challenges. Large parts of the country—residential areas and roads, the water and electricity grids, schools, and hospitals—have been destroyed or damaged; more than five million people are still internally displaced, and 15,6 million Syrians are dependent on humanitarian aid. Militias must be transformed into professional security forces; the public sector must be reformed; the economy must be revitalized; and reconstruction must be financed. This requires suitable investment conditions; mines must be cleared; mass graves must be exhumed; and war criminals must be apprehended and brought to justice. Some progress has already been made, but for many, things are not moving fast enough.
Transitional President Ahmad al-Sharaa has convinced the international community that he can stabilize Syria after 54 years of dictatorship and nearly 14 years of war—but can he also unite the country and its people? Syrian society is deeply divided. While residents of Damascus rave about greater freedom and a life without fear, segments of the population—especially Alawite, Druze, Kurdish, and Christian Syrians—have lost all trust in the new leadership. Following massacres on the coast in March 2025, in Sweida in July 2025, and the militarily enforced integration of the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria into the central state in January 2026, they fear violent attacks and discrimination. Some believe that an Arab-Sunni-dominated government in Damascus, which already acts in a centralized and authoritarian manner, could become worse in the medium term than the former Baath regime, because under al-Sharaa, Arab nationalism is being compounded by Islamism of some sort.
Syria is in a transitional phase, and it is unclear where this will lead. In this panel discussion, four Syrian experts will address the most pressing issues and explore different perspectives. What is al-Sharaa’s vision? Can civil society defend its newly gained freedoms? What role does the diaspora play? How important is a political parties law that allows people to organize politically? And what answers will a new constitution provide to questions of identity and pluralism? Given the escalating violence all around—in Lebanon, Iran, the Gulf, and in Palestine and Israel—Syria almost seems like a haven of stability. How are the wars affecting the situation in the country? What interests are Israel, Turkey, and other regional powers pursuing in Syria? And what needs to happen for Syria to become a country for all Syrians?
Photo: Die Zitadelle in Aleppo, Syrien. Credit: Andrea Backhaus