“Forever Has Fallen”: The End of Syria’s Assad

Issue Date April 2025
Volume 36
Issue 2
Page Numbers 50–58
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Read the full essay here.

When rebel forces seized Damascus on 8 December 2024 and toppled the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, it was impossible not to share in the euphoria over the end of 54 years of brutal dictatorship. After more than a decade of civil war, rebel forces began the offensive that finally brought down the regime, showing Syrians that nothing is permanent, not even dynasties. Political transformation finally came because the regime’s backers withdrew their protection and Assad’s deeply demoralized army collapsed. The essay explores the challenges facing Syria’s new leadership under Ahmad al-Sharaa, including sectarian tensions and the destabilizing influence of Western sanctions and Israeli military interventions. Whatever comes next, this chapter of Syrian suffering is over, though the complexities of transitional justice and the devastating sectarian violence that erupted in March 2025 cast uncertainty over Syria’s future.

About the Author

Lisa Wedeen is the Mary R. Morton Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Political Science. Her books include Authoritarian Apprehensions: Ideology, Judgment and Mourning in Syria (2019) and Ambiguities of Domination: Politics, Rhetoric, and Symbols in Contemporary Syria (1999).

View all work by Lisa Wedeen

Image Credit: Emin Sansar/Anadolu via Getty Images