Syria: From Non-Religious and Democratic Revolution to ISIS

Fabrice Balanche (1)

1 EVS - Environnement, Ville, Société

In 2011, there was general agreement that Bashar al-Assad would fall like a ripe fruit after a few months of fighting and that the Syrian revolution was pacifist, non-religious, and democratic. There was no risk of radicalization, for Syrian civil society would supposedly oppose any moves in such a direction. The communitarian structure of Syrian society was completely ignored by researchers in the social sciences, as was the Salafist re-Islamization of Syrian society that had begun in the 1990s. In addition, from 2011 it was clear that Bashar al-Assad would benefit from the unfailing support of Russia and Iran, enabling him to resist an insurrection that was quickly backed by Iran’s enemies.

Mots clés: Syria; Ethnicity; Syrian Revolution; Bashar al-Assad; Islamic State; Alawites; Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant; Rojava

Domaines: Sciences de l'Homme et Société; Géographie

Fabrice Balanche. Syria: From Non-Religious and Democratic Revolution to ISIS. Hérodote - Revue de géographie et de géopolitique, 2016, 160-161, pp.123-142. ⟨halshs-03177113⟩