By Dara O’Cogaidhin
The rapid collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024 was nothing short of spectacular for anyone who has followed the Syrian revolution and civil war since it began in 2011.
The various stages of the civil war indelibly marked regional and global politics over the past 13 years: Russia’s intervention in 2015 provided decisive air power to Syrian and Iranian-backed ground troops, while Turkey launched an offensive against US-backed Kurdish militants. For millions of Syrians, the fall of Assad is a moment of relief and jubilation. Thousands thronged the streets of Damascus in massive rallies celebrating the overthrow of his regime.
While the situation in Syria is fluid and far from stable, it opens new possibilities for struggle.
There have been reports of meetings organised by socialists, feminists, liberal NGOs, and the families of those who were disappeared in Assad’s brutal prison system. Syrian lawyers, for example, have called for free union elections after the new authorities appointed an unelected council to govern the bar association.
Prospects
While Turkey is now the key regional actor in Syria, the caretaker HTS government is seeking to allay Western concerns. The Islamist militia remains listed as a terrorist organisation by the US and the UK, but speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Syria’s new foreign minister confirmed their neoliberal orientation by assuring the West they are open for business. HTS unveiled extensive plans to privatise state-owned ports and factories aimed at convincing the West to end the sanctions and to attract foreign direct investment.
In a country where 90% of the population is already living under the poverty line, further liberalisation of the economy is likely to exacerbate socio-economic inequalities. When Bashar al-Assad replaced his father as leader in 2000, Syria shifted from a state-led welfare model to a neoliberal economy, exposing domestic industries to global competition.
This exposed long-standing inefficiencies in the Syrian economy and subsequently eroded public services, concentrating wealth in the hands of the rich while widening social divides. This was one of the main factors behind the 2011 uprising. This deepening of neoliberalism under HTS will expose their counter-revolutionary colours and could prompt future struggles from below.
Despite the challenges, there is currently a space for the forces of the Syrian left and the labour movement to come together, organise, and grow. There is also the potential to rekindle the spirit of the 2011 Arab Spring and inspire movements in the region to topple their Arab rulers, who are working hand in glove with US imperialism and Israel.