Syria is entering a phase that goes beyond conflict management and organizing a political transition. Forming a government, drafting a constitution, holding elections, and restoring order to political life are important, but they do not by themselves create a stable state. The main task is to build institutions capable of continuing to function regardless of changes in governments and political alliances.
The key difference between establishing political authority and building a state is that the former answers the question of who governs the country and how, while the latter asks whether state institutions can effectively implement decisions and operate continuously. Elections provide political legitimacy, and a constitution establishes the legal framework. However, limited resources, an unclear division of powers, and a lack of accountability can reduce their impact to a minimum. Institutional reform must therefore proceed alongside the political transition rather than be viewed as its automatic consequence.
Syria needs to restore the state’s ability to perform its core functions, rather than limiting itself to rebuilding cities and infrastructure. Years of conflict have damaged public administration, the economy, the labor market, public services, legislation, and relations between citizens and the authorities. Success should be measured by whether institutions can uphold the rule of law, manage resources, provide services, protect rights, resolve disputes, and plan for the future. A strong state is defined not by the size of its bureaucracy, but by its ability to make, implement, and, when necessary, revise decisions.
This will require shifting the focus from the form of the political system to the quality of governance. Priorities include reforming the civil service, ensuring judicial independence, updating legislation, improving the efficiency of economic institutions, and strengthening transparency and genuine accountability. Citizens’ trust does not arise from official statements, but from everyday experience: the equal application of the law, fair access to services, and institutions’ ability to respond to problems. The participation of civil society, the private sector, and local authorities can strengthen the state, while well-designed decentralization can improve services without undermining the country’s unity.
State-building cannot be separated from rebuilding the social contract that defines the rights and responsibilities of citizens and the authorities. People need security, justice, services, and protection of their rights, while the state expects respect for the law, civic participation, and contributions to development. Transitional justice, accountability for those responsible for abuses, and support for victims are necessary to establish a new relationship with the state. Without acknowledging and overcoming the legacy of the past, it will be difficult to convince Syrians that the new era truly breaks with previous practices.
Economic recovery also depends on more than the amount of funding available. More important is whether institutions can manage resources effectively, set priorities, ensure transparency, and create stable conditions for production and investment. International and regional support, including investment and the sharing of expertise, can accelerate recovery, but it cannot replace domestic state-building. The central question, therefore, is not when the transitional period will end, but what will remain afterward: resilient institutions, the rule of law, and a reliable social contract capable of preserving stability and ensuring development.
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What does decentralization mean in the Syrian context, and how can the powers of local authorities be expanded without intensifying territorial and political divisions among the country’s regions? — Decentralization in Syria could mean transferring powers over public utilities, education, healthcare, local development, and budget management to municipalities and provincial authorities while preserving a unified country, nationwide laws, and central control over borders, defense, and foreign policy. To prevent deeper divisions, this would require common legal standards, a transparent system for distributing funds among regions, equal representation for different communities, accountability for local authorities, and the gradual implementation of reforms through dialogue.
Which Syrian state institutions have suffered the most during the years of conflict, and what measures are needed to restore their professional independence and accountability? — The courts, police and other law-enforcement agencies, local government bodies, parliamentary mechanisms, the civil service, and the healthcare and education systems have been particularly badly affected. Their restoration requires selecting personnel according to professional criteria, vetting those implicated in serious abuses, independent oversight, public budgets, protection for judges and journalists, citizens’ access to information, and mechanisms for handling complaints. It is also important to ensure the law is applied uniformly and to prevent reforms from becoming collective punishment or a political purge.
How can transitional justice in Syria combine holding perpetrators accountable, supporting victims, and preventing new forms of revenge or violence? — This requires a comprehensive approach: investigating the most serious crimes regardless of which side of the conflict the suspects belonged to; ensuring fair trials and the rights of the accused; establishing programs to search for the missing and determine the fate of those who disappeared; and providing compensation as well as medical and psychological assistance to victims. Truth commissions, local dialogues, and limited forms of conditional reconciliation may be used only where they do not involve grave international crimes and do not replace accountability. The process must be transparent, take victims’ interests into account, and include measures to reform the security forces in order to prevent violence from recurring.
Full version: From Managing the Transitional Phase to Building the State: What Does Syria Really Need?