Thirteen years and a half since the start of the Syrian Revolution do not form a homogenous continuity. The revolution failed with the collapse of the national setting of the struggle, sometime between mid 2012 and the end of 2013. Syrian intellectuals and activists should focus on building the Syrian Cause, as one of political and social emancipation.

With the involvement of the two most powerful countries in Syria, as well as the three regional most powerful states, and with the religious, sectarian and ethnic dimensions of the Syrian crisis, we may be facing a long-term Syrian Question that might cover the whole century. 

In order to move forward and towards reconciliation, there is need on the theoretical and practical levels for a Synthesis that includes and surpasses the current partial Syrian theses and antitheses on a basis of equality and respect.

Yassin al-Haj Saleh is a Syrian writer and translator. He authored books on Syria, prison, contemporary Islam, Arab intellectuals and intellectual life, and experiences of the atrocious. 

His publications include The Impossible Revolution: Making Sense of the Syrian Tragedy (London: Hurst, 2017) and Darstellung des Schrecklichen: Versuch über das zerstörte Syrien (Berlin: Matthes & Seitz, 2024). He is a founding member of the electronic magazine: aljumhuriya.net and currently lives in Berlin.