In Syria, Moving Forward Means Looking Back

In the months since the militant opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham stunned the world by bringing down the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad in early December 2024, Syria has faced many pressing concerns. The country is ravaged and war-torn. More than 90 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, the economy is shattered, and basic infrastructure is in ruins. Syria’s new leaders—including former HTS head Ahmed al-Shara, who is now interim president, and Mohammed al-Bashir, the transitional prime minister—must contend with remnant cells of Islamic State (also known as ISIS) fighters in the east, negotiate with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the north, and contain ideological radicals in their ranks. Meanwhile, Shara and other senior figures of the transitional government must convince world leaders that they intend to shed their own extremist roots.