The fall of the Assad regime, after more than half a century of rule that seemed impervious to regional geopolitical shifts and internal dissent, has surprised many observers. How do you explain it?The Syrian event is indeed monumental. Politically, it marks the collapse of yet another Arab authoritarian regime, following those of Saddam Hussein, Omar al-Bashir, Ben Ali, Gaddafi and Ali Abdullah Saleh. More importantly, the disappearance of the Assad regime signals the end — following Iraq’s collapse — of the distorted utopia of Baathism. Once a symbol of Arab nationalism dreaming of unity and freedom, Baathism devolved into regimes of isolation, terror, disappearances and mass killings.The cruelty and barbarity of the Syrian political order, however, exceeded what the ordinary Arab imagination had come to tolerate in terms of violence...
The fall of the Assad regime, after more than half a century of rule that seemed impervious to regional geopolitical shifts and internal dissent, has surprised many observers. How do you explain it?The Syrian event is indeed monumental. Politically, it marks the collapse of yet another Arab authoritarian regime, following those of Saddam Hussein, Omar al-Bashir, Ben Ali, Gaddafi and Ali Abdullah Saleh. More importantly, the disappearance of the Assad regime signals the end — following Iraq’s collapse — of the distorted utopia of Baathism. Once a symbol of Arab nationalism dreaming of unity and freedom, Baathism devolved into regimes of isolation, terror, disappearances and mass killings.The cruelty and barbarity of the Syrian political order, however, exceeded what the ordinary Arab imagination had come to tolerate in terms of...
