Syria: What Comes After the Despot?
Anand Gopal on why the Assad dictatorship was one of the most brutal regimes of the 21st century and what's likely to come next in Syria.
A portrait of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is pictured with its frame broken on the outskirts of the central city of Hama, following the capture of the area by anti-government forces on December 7, 2024. (Omar Haj Kadour / AFP via Getty Images)
This week, millions of Syrians are celebrating the end of Bashar al-Assad’s bloody dictatorship. The rapid advance of Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) and collapse of the Assad regime caught many observers by surprise, with new questions arising about the HTS’s ideology and program, as well as what comes next for minorities in the country.
Jacobin founding editor Bhaskar Sunkara spoke with journalist Anand Gopal about the origins of the Syrian revolution, the descent of the country into civil war, and what comes next.
Bhaskar Sunkara
Before we talk about the events unfolding in Syria today, can you briefly discuss the origins of Syrian Baathism and the roots of the discontent lead to the 2011 revolution?
Anand Gopal
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