The Damascus Spring: The Renewed Struggle for Syria

Eyal Zisser

The Arab Spring reached Syria in mid-March 2011. The Syrian regime’s oppressive steps did not succeed in containing the protest which quickly developed into a popular uprising. However, the regime has survived the waves of protest throughout its first two years. The result is that the Syrians find themselves engaged in a full-scale bloody civil war.
The outbreak of this "Syrian Spring" heralded the end of a long period during which Syria was a stable and even strong state playing a central role in the Middle East arena. This new reality means a return to the past for Syria, to the first quarter century of its existence as an independent state, which was characterized by its weakness, political instability, frequent changes of government and increasing foreign intervention in Syria's internal affairs.
This article explores the roots of the Syrian Revolution and examines its first stages: the passage from a peasant's protest to a popular uprising and eventually to a bloody civil war.