Questions about Syria's future preoccupy all concerned parties, including all Syrian citizens (both inside and outside the country) and governments in the region. These questions arise in financial and political circles, as well as in research and the media. The main question that comes up is: "Will the new government stabilise the country, and will it succeed in the long term?"

Will Syria be a model of good governance?

Can a sustainable Syrian model of governance be pursued that achieves everything in the best interests of the Syrian people and inspires the rest of the region? What are the repercussions?

The difficult path to stability

The path to stability is challenging. The Kurdish issue has yet to be resolved, and the repeated clashes between the ruling factions and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continue.

A clash between the various armed factions is possible, even if they are all affiliated with and under Turkish control. Also, how are the different factions to be ​​integrated into the Syrian army? What are the conditions for this?

There are also armed foreign elements from outside Syria. These forces are supported and backed by Turkey. Is it likely that Russian and Iranian forces, along with Hezbollah, will gradually withdraw from Syria? But the picture is more complicated for the Syrian Shiite and Alawite militias, as well as for the Sunni armed elements that have joined the ranks of the victors. Until now, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham has consistently maintained that Syrian Shiite and Alawite militias, as well as Sunni armed elements, will be part of the new Syria. Therefore, these elements reacted positively to the new regime, especially since it would not retaliate against them.

Can political forces supported from abroad build a healthy society?

There is also the question of the future role of external forces and the extent of their ability to produce successful political models.  Can serving the interests of an external party lead to the emergence of a cohesive and viable political system? Historical experience does not provide any evidence of this.

Some Syrian armed forces, along with foreign elements, obey the Turkish decision to support the Opposition factions that do not entirely match Syrian interests. Turkey continues to have geographical ambitions in Syria, and its only goal and ambition is to become the dominant party there, especially since Ankara has played a major role in helping the new regime to overthrow former president Bashar El-Assad.

Evidence so far indicates that Syria is facing an unclear future. There are many details; most notably, the Syrian leader, Ahmed Al-Sharia, talks about a four-year transitional period. This is a long time and may lead to many complex interactions. With all these considerations and others besides, most notably the reconstruction dilemma, there are more questions than answers.

Photo: The flag of the new Syrian regime (by Adobe)