How the Syrian Revolution Started Over 14 Years Ago – and Why It Isn’t Really Over Yet

In a new opinion piece published on Resilience.org, Daniel Hoyer & Rachel Ainsworth discuss the December 2024 Syrian revolution. Utilizing SoDy's long-term perspective to uncover the complex, interweaved forces that shape history, they point out how the Syrian revolution is part of a broader process stretching back decades and involving nearly every country in the region – and beyond. A sample from the piece explains this well:

“The Syrian coup is not only a major event for the millions who suffered under the Assad regime or were forced to flee from their homeland, it represents the culmination of wider historical forces leading back to the early 2010s and beyond. Revolutions do not just ‘happen’ – they are the result of a complex web of forces both within and outside of national borders, stretching across years and are often driven by entangled social, economic, political, and environmental systems.

Some call this type of confluence of issues a ‘polycrisis’: a situation where numerous systems affecting dozens of countries are strained and in danger of falling into dysfunction. Many argue that we are experiencing a global polycrisis right now, which not only makes revolutions more likely to arise as these stresses grow, but also more likely to spread to other regions when they do occur.”

This article highlights how our historical work can inform current events and expose forces that are still unfolding which may shape events for years to come.