Author: Wendy Pearlman | Journal of Democracy

Wendy Pearlman is Jane Long Professor of Arts and Sciences and professor of political science at Northwestern University. She is the author of six books, including We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria (2017) and The Home I Worked to Make: Voices from the New Syrian Diaspora (2024).

April 2025, Volume 36, Issue 2

Why Syria’s Civil Society Is the Key

Rana B. Khoury
Wendy Pearlman

After the collapse of the Assad regime, Syria stands at a crossroads. Nothing is assured, but the country’s civil society is its best hope for charting a democratic future.