Reconstructing the ‘New Syria’: Peacebuilding and Political Transition After Assad

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This report identifies emerging dynamics and key challenges for both peacemaking and political transition after the downfall of dictator Bashar Assad's in Syria in Dember 2024. Events have unfolded against a backdrop of a region reeling from a 15-month long genocide in Gaza, a war and tenuous ceasefire in Lebanon and a new US administration under Donald Trump who maintains close ties with Gulf leaders. The report begins by mapping out the key actors and the latest political and security developments in the roughly three months since Assad’s fall. It then moves to identifying extant issues necessary for the country’s move out of war and into the uncertain terrain of political transition. It concludes with policy recommendations for Syrian civil society and political as well as regional and international actors.