Can Syria avoid becoming another Libya or Iraq? A week after Assad’s fall, here are 3 possible futures

By Ali Mamouri, Research Fellow, Middle East Studies, Deakin University

After the fall of the Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, the world was moved by emotional scenes of liberation — families reuniting after years of separation and former prisoners walking free from the brutal conditions of Assad’s prisons.

These moments of joy mirrored similar scenes from the fall of past regimes in the region, such as the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, Saddam Hussein in Iraq, and Omar al-Bashir in Sudan.

Yet, history also warns us of the challenges that come next: the initial euphoria often gives way to instability, tragedy…

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