Conflict and Transition in Syria : War Legacies and State Reconstruction After Assad

A comprehensive examination of the current phase of the conflict in Syria, from 2018 to the present.

In 2018, after years of intense military confrontation, the Syrian regime supported by Russia and Iran managed to recapture vast swathes of territory. These territorial gains, however, did not generate a ‘post conflict’ environment and did not trigger a transition from war to peace. Instead, Syria has gradually descended into a state of low-intensity conflict. This phase was characterised by territorial fragmentation, localised episodes of violence, hybrid modes of local governance, expansion of the shadow economy and a grim socio-economic situation. Featuring 15 chapters, this volume brings together a host of scholars and researchers to conduct a comprehensive examination of an overlooked phase of the Syrian conflict, which began in 2018 and culminated in the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. Drawing on fieldwork undertaken in Syria, empirical chapters deliberate on research topics organised into three sections. The first part examines the changes in the regime’s power structures and ways it attempted to instrumentalize, co-opt and accommodate various actors to reproduce its domination over society. The second section examines the different modalities of governance, exploring both those established by non-state actors and the state-driven devolution of functions through outsourcing and contestation. The final section analyses the socio-economic situation, investigating topics such as illicit activities, remittances, women''s participation in the labour force, and strategies employed by the local population, including returning internally displaced people, to navigate economic challenges. This timely and vital volume utilise field research and adopts micro-based approach to understanding the volatile landscape that dominated Syria in the period leading up to the collapse of the Assad regime