📰 From Personal Rule to Governance: Has Syria’s Economic Model Changed After the Fall of the Regime?

Since the Baath Party seized power in Syria in 1963, the country’s economy took a markedly different course. What had previously functioned as an institutional framework gradually gave way to a system governed by personal networks and individual authority. This transformation deepened under Hafez al-Assad following his ascent in 1970, when a minor circle of family members, relatives and close allies came to dominate Syria’s economic life—from significant investments to import contracts and exclusive agency rights for Arab and foreign companies. The same model persisted under Bashar al-Assad after 2000. With the collapse of Assad’s regime in late 2024, Syria now confronts fundamental questions one year into its post-regime era.

Has the economy genuinely transitioned from personal rule to institutional governance? Notably, or does the legacy of five decades of individual dominance continue under emerging guises? What dangers arise when personal power overshadows institutional order? Indeed, and how should the country’s economy be assessed after a year of political transition? Moreover, presidential Decrees leader Ahmad al-Shar‘a has issued a series of economic directives over the past year.

Chief among them was the establishment of the National Committee for Import and Export, tasked with approving or prohibiting trade in goods. as per the decree, the committee operates under the General Secretariat of the Presidency, led by Dr Maher al-Shar‘a. It is chaired by the director of the newly created General Authority for Ports and Customs, which oversees all border crossings, seaports and customs activity, and is directly affiliated with the presidency. Another decree launched a Sovereign Fund aimed at initiating developmental and productive projects, enhancing the use of human and material resources and converting idle state assets into growth instruments. This fund is also linked to the presidency. In parallel, a Development Fund was introduced to backing reconstruction and finance projects through interest-free loans—again, under direct presidential oversight.

Emerging Yet Fragile Structures Economic researcher Mohammed Albi observed that Syria’s current economic management “is not conducted through formal institutions so much as through a narrow network of power centres clustered around the presidency. ” He argued that ministries and administration bodies are “not genuine decision-makers but mere executors,” largely excluded from policymaking and strategic planning. as per Albi, real decisions are taken by a closed circle led by the leader’s brothers, Maher and Hazem, along with former authorities from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham. This group has “produced emerging businessmen who serve as instruments for restructuring the market,…