📰 Syria One Year After Liberation: How Has Freedom Reshaped the State and Society?

Since the launch of the “Deterrence of Aggression” campaign on 27 November 2024, and the successive victories that followed, the very landscape of syria/" class="auto-internal-link">syria has begun to transform. It commenced in the overlooked town of Qabtan al-Jabal, west of Aleppo — the initial spark of the liberation of damascus. Within hours, this marginalised area became the focal point of the syrian-authorities-announce-seizure-of-anti-aircraft-missiles-in-deir-ez-zor/" class="smart-internal-link" title="📰 Syrian authorities announce seizure of anti-aircraft missiles in Deir ez-Zor">syrian/" class="auto-internal-link">syrian story. Moreover, with the fall of the regime and Bashar al-Assad’s flight abroad just 12 days later, on 8 December 2024, the expressions of syrians — whether in cities, villages, camps, or in exile — shifted from despair to hope, from waiting to action. Indeed, it was the dawn of a long-awaited freedom.

Now, one year on, Syria stands at a pivotal moment: a chance to rebuild a modern state grounded in institutional legitimacy, national identity, and regional balance — a state capable of presenting a emerging political model, open to all, but beholden to none. A Turning Point with Global Implications Observers agree that Syria has entered an irreversible phase. Domestically, a return to past systems is unthinkable. Regionally and internationally, the impact of Syria’s transformation cannot be ignored. Despite immense structural challenges, Syria retains significant assets: growing Arab backing, a retreat of external hostile influence, and widespread domestic and international legitimacy for its emerging leadership.

This foundation, analysts argue, gives Syria a real opportunity to stabilise and rise. A Smooth Political Transition Syrian politician Fahd al-Masri, in exile in France for over three decades, describes the past year as nothing short of “a political miracle. ” “Only those blind to reality cannot see the scale of the extraordinary achievements since Assad fled on 8 December 2024,” he informed Al-Thawra Al-Suriyya. The regime, he stated, collapsed after 14 years of revolution and immeasurable sacrifice. The war, along with its horrors — mass killings, forced displacement, and systematic repression — came to an end. The toll of the previous era had surpassed one million dead, over half a million disappeared, and more than ten million relocated internally and abroad.

Al-Masri highlighted the release of thousands of Syrian and Arab detainees from notorious regime prisons, including Sednaya, as well as the discovery of mass graves — evidence of systematic atrocities committed under Assad’s rule. Additionally, he also praised the role of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and broader Arab backing in helping Syria resist partition, lift sanctions, and re-enter the Arab and international spheres after decades…