Emile Hokayem’s first-hand experience and sober analysis provide up-to-date insight into the myriad opposition groups, the conflicting external interests and the murky calculations of the Assad regime.　 Tracking the seeds of dissent that laid the groundwork for rebellion, he looks at how Syria’s largely apolitical society mobilised and at the unpredictable dynamics that have been unleashed as the protest movement has radicalised and militarised.　 In the face of such profound challenges to its four decades of authoritarian rule, Hokayem also assesses the continued resilience of a regime that has escalated beyond the point of return.

"The book offers a meticulous and highly effective anatomy of the Syrian crisis, serving a comprehensive analysis that both illuminates and steers away from reductionist pitfalls." - Nigel Gould Davies, International Affairs

• Acknowledgements, List of acronyms, Map of Syria’s ethnic and sectarian distribution, Introduction, Chapter One The decay of the Syrian state, Chapter Two The uprising and the regime, Chapter Three The rise of the opposition, Chapter Four The regional struggle over Syria, Chapter Five Syria in the international context, Conclusion

Emile Hokayem’s first-hand experience and sober analysis provide up-to-date insight into the myriad opposition groups, the conflicting external interests and the murky calculations of the Assad regime.　 Tracking the seeds of dissent that laid the groundwork for rebellion, he looks at how Syria’s largely apolitical society mobilised and at the unpredictable dynamics that have been unleashed as the protest movement has radicalised and militarised.　 In the face of such profound challenges to its four decades of authoritarian rule, Hokayem also assesses the continued resilience of a regime that has escalated beyond the point of return.

"The book offers a meticulous and highly effective anatomy of the Syrian crisis, serving a comprehensive analysis that both illuminates and steers away from reductionist pitfalls." - Nigel Gould Davies, International Affairs

• Acknowledgements, List of acronyms, Map of Syria’s ethnic and sectarian distribution, Introduction, Chapter One The decay of the Syrian state, Chapter Two The uprising and the regime, Chapter Three The rise of the opposition, Chapter Four The regional struggle over Syria, Chapter Five Syria in the international context, Conclusion

Emile Hokayem’s first-hand experience and sober analysis provide up-to-date insight into the myriad opposition groups, the conflicting external interests and the murky calculations of the Assad regime.　 Tracking the seeds of dissent that laid the groundwork for rebellion, he looks at how Syria’s largely apolitical society mobilised and at the unpredictable dynamics that have been unleashed as the protest movement has radicalised and militarised.　 In the face of such profound challenges to its four decades of authoritarian rule, Hokayem also assesses the continued resilience of a regime that has escalated beyond the point of return.

"The book offers a meticulous and highly effective anatomy of the Syrian crisis, serving a comprehensive analysis that both illuminates and steers away from reductionist pitfalls." - Nigel Gould Davies, International Affairs

• Acknowledgements, List of acronyms, Map of Syria’s ethnic and sectarian distribution, Introduction, Chapter One The decay of the Syrian state, Chapter Two The uprising and the regime, Chapter Three The rise of the opposition, Chapter Four The regional struggle over Syria, Chapter Five Syria in the international context, Conclusion