Browsing by Author "Every, Elena S."

Following the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024 and the ascent of an interim government led by former Hay’At Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leaders, Syria’s future is marked by uncertainty, factionalism, and external pressures. While Syria must be granted the autonomy to determine its own future, stability and reconstruction will be near impossible without the involvement of foreign actors. In exploring the rapidly evolving dynamics of Syria’s political transition, this thesis asks: how has international engagement evolved in a post-Assad Syria, and how will it impact the success of the new state? Analysis focuses on the strategic objectives of key international actors—the United States, the European Union, Turkey, Israel, Iran, Russia, and the Arab Gulf States—and evaluates how their competing interests will impact Syria’s fragile transition. It is increasingly evident that Western engagement in Syria is decreasing due to domestic turmoil, shifting global dynamics, and competing crises such as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza; meanwhile, Gulf countries see Syria as the linchpin of a shifting geopolitical landscape in the Middle East and have both the interest and resources available to heavily invest in its reconstruction and stabilization. Through a qualitative analysis of policy documents, NGO reports, and interviews with Syrian humanitarian organizations, this thesis argues that while Gulf States and Turkey will fill the vacuum of Western disengagement, caused by waning bandwidth and lack of interest in nation-building diplomacy, the West will maintain the most significant influence, whether positive or negative, in paving the way for a successful Syrian transition to an inclusive, rights-respecting system of democratic governance.