An Existential Question at the Heart of the Tragedy
Through what has transpired in Syria, where human suffering has intertwined with political and social collapses, particularly after the fall of the criminal Assad regime, a fundamental existential question emerges: How can a person stripped of their dignity, displaced from their land, and silenced, ever again contribute to a political system that does not reproduce injustice?
The answer lies not in changing faces or slogans, but in redefining the relationship between the individual and power, between society and the state, and between freedom and identity. Here, we cannot seek a new path without drawing inspiration from the experiences of human thought that have placed humanity at the center of existence, not as a subject, but as the creator of their own life and future. Among these experiences stands a liberating vision whose essence is humanity, not power; society, not the state; and freedom, not control.
The Nation-State: From Protector of Freedom to Its Executioner
These experiences call not only for the dismantling of the state, but also for transcending the state as a monolithic, hegemonic concept that excludes diversity and marginalizes difference. The modern nation-state here is not a champion of freedom, but rather its oppressor, because it concentrates power in the hands of a single center and imposes a single identity on a vast diversity of cultures, languages, sects, customs, and traditions.
In the Syrian case, the Ba’ath Party regime was nothing but a blatant example of this trend, through a repressive, centralized state that claimed nationalism but was fundamentally based on fear, censorship, and isolation. It transformed Syria’s diversity, which had been a source of cultural richness and diversity, into an existential threat that had to be eradicated. The result? Devastating wars at the outbreak of the revolution, a deep social divide, and a collapse of trust between the citizen and the state, and among the citizens themselves, until everyone came to view the state not as a guarantor of their security, but as a constant source of danger.
Decentralization: An Existential Necessity, Not a Tactical Choice
Thus, decentralization becomes not a tactical choice but an existential necessity. However, the decentralization we seek is not one that divides the country into ethnic or sectarian fiefdoms, but rather one that redefines governance through genuine participation.
A democratic society is not built from the top down, but from the bottom up, through local councils that produce decisions through dialogue and consensus, not through orders and security or military decrees. In this model, power is not measured by the number of soldiers or the size of the security apparatus, but by the extent to which a society can manage its own affairs, protect its environment, raise its children, develop its economy, and shape its culture. It is a direct democracy, not merely representative, that involves women, youth, elders, farmers, and intellectuals in decision-making without any guardianship.
Imagine, for example, that Aleppo Governorate was previously administered by a government-appointed governor from Damascus, who knew nothing about it except what he read in reports and was perhaps completely out of touch with the concerns of its people. In a decentralized democratic system, however, the people of the governorate themselves meet in the governorate council, where they decide their priorities; no decision is imposed from the outside, and no project is implemented without their consent. This does not mean separation from the homeland, but rather deep integration within it; for a true homeland is not built with walls of fear, but with bridges of trust among its people.
From a Security State to a Service State
Thus, decentralization is not a weakness of the state, but rather a strengthening of its human presence. The old centralized state was a security state: a state that monitors, punishes, and intimidates. The state that emerges from decentralization, however, is a service state: one that facilitates, motivates, and liberates.
In this context, one cannot forget how the previous regime left entire regions vulnerable to collapse, even facilitating their fall into the hands of terrorism, not only out of weakness, but also due to existential calculations that viewed anyone other than blind loyalty as an enemy to be destroyed, even at the expense of the nation itself.
Decentralization: A Salvation for the Soul and Society
Decentralization, therefore, not only saves the country, but also the soul; it restores to the Syrian people their sense of agency, not merely their passive observation of their fate. When people feel they have the power to change their reality, they do not seek escape or revenge, but rather construction. This is precisely what we mean when we say that freedom is not given, but seized through the organization of society.
A true democracy cannot be built without a conscious, organized society that possesses its own cultural tools, local leaders, and participatory institutions. This underscores the need for a new generation of political leaders who learn politics not only from books, but also from the suffering of the people, from the land itself, and from the wisdom of local councils.
Global Lessons and a Unique Syrian Model
This vision is not merely a theoretical dream. In many global experiences, from Iraqi Kurdistan to parts of Latin America, and even in European experiences like the Basque Country or Catalonia, we see how empowering local communities reduces tensions, increases stability, and strengthens national identity. In Syria, however, what is required is not blind imitation, but the establishment of a unique model born from suffering, one that redefines the relationship between center and periphery, between state and society, and between the individual and the community.
Conclusion: Towards a New Republic Built from the Ground Up
Finally, we cannot ignore the deeper truth: any regime that denies human freedom and attempts to confine life to rigid molds is doomed to perish, no matter how powerful it may be. History is unforgiving to dictatorships, no matter how long they last. Sargon, Pharaoh, Nimrod, Hitler, Mussolini, and Bashar al-Assad are all gone, but humanity remains. Socrates endured despite the poison; the Syrian farmer endured despite the bombing; the Syrian people endured despite the regime’s attempts to dissuade them from the goals of their revolution. This is because freedom is not merely a fleeting concept, but the essence of existence, and existence, in its essence, cannot be confined.
Therefore, the way out of the Syrian crisis does not lie solely in the battlefields, but also in rebuilding the political imagination. There can be no true peace without justice, no justice without decentralization, and no decentralization without genuine participatory democracy.
