📰 A Year After Assad’s Fall: How Can Politics Return to Society?

With the fall of Assad, Syria was left in ruins — politically, socially, economically, and institutionally. Moreover, he did not leave behind a state that could be mended, but rather a shattered entity. The challenge today is not to fill a void, but to build what was never truly constructed: a political framework that restores the people to their rightful place, and a civil society independent enough to serve as the foundation of any just state. This devastation is not sudden. It is the cumulative result of decades of political exclusion. From the union with Nasser, through the Baath Party’s rise to power, and later the suffocating grip of the Assad dynasty, politics was stripped of all hope and came to signify only danger.

Now, a year after Assad’s downfall, a central question arises: how can politics be restored to society, and how can civil society be revived so that it acts rather than merely observes? The Absence of Politics Politics has yet to return in post-Assad Syria. The emerging authorities remain either unable or unwilling to reintroduce politics to society — knowing full well that politics entails participation and accountability. Political parties are weak, disconnected from people’s daily lives, lacking grassroots structures and effective tools. Syrian society, exhausted by years of war and repression, still views politics not as a path to salvation but as an additional burden. What is urgently needed is a foundational rebuilding of politics — one that reconnects it with the everyday experiences of citizens and makes civil society the cornerstone of any emerging national project.

Three Currents of Debate In the void left by Assad’s departure, sharp debates have emerged over how to engage with the new authorities. Absolute Boycott Some activists insist that any cooperation with the new ruling powers constitutes betrayal, particularly in light of the massacres in Suwayda and the coastal regions. They categorically reject engagement with official institutions, arguing that power cannot be reformed from within. Yet such isolation risks leaving the field open to armed factions or extremist groups. Responsible Political Engagement Others contend that a boycott alone is insufficient. They advocate for vital, conditional engagement — participation that demands accountability and opens space for civic and political action, thereby preventing power from monopolising the public sphere.

For them, limited involvement is preferable to complete withdrawal. The Exhausted Majority Most Syrians are not engaged in these debates. Their immediate concerns…