Tomorrow, Wednesday at 7 p.m., Casa Árabe hosts the round table Syria at the crossroads: reconstruction and uncertainty, as part of the presentation of the latest issue of afkar/ideas magazine. Free admission until full capacity. In Spanish.
The sudden overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in late 2024 caused an outburst of optimism and disquiet among both international observers and Syrians themselves. On the one hand, it seemed to indicate the end of the bloody civil war that had caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Syrians over his ten years. On the other hand, the political reform intentions of the new transitional government, led by the former head of a radical Islamist militia, Ahmed al-Shara, were unclear.
This state of uncertainty remains one year after the transition began. Whether the new institutions will be able to channel the demands of a pluralistic and fragmented society, and hence maintain the stability needed for a complete reconstruction of the country, is still in doubt. Massacres of minority ethnic groups -the Alawites, Druze, and Kurds- have weakened trust in government and raised fears of the extension of the long years of conflict that have devastated the country.
The international situation further complicates the reconstruction process, whose minimum cost is estimated at more than €180 billion. Despite the return of the Syrian government to international institutions, symbolized by al-Shara’s speech at the UN and his reception in the White House, The promise of reconstruction confronts an international community distracted by other priorities and unwilling to contribute the necessary financial aid.
The session will be opened by Miguel Moro Aguilar, director of Casa Árabe; Senén Florensa, executive president of IEMed and co-director of afkar/ideas; Gaspar Atienza, president of the Foreign Policy Analysis Foundation, and Carmen Magariños Casal, general director for the Maghreb, Mediterranean and Middle East, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (tbc).
Leila Nachawati, professor at the Carlos III University of Madrid; Jesús A. Núñez Villaverde, co-director of the Institute for Studies on Conflict and Humanitarian Action (IECAH), and Gabriel Garroum Pla, postdoctoral researcher, will take part in the panel discussion and subsequent debate. Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), moderated by Natalia Sancha, journalist specializing in the Middle East, El País.
