Syria: Obstacles to Reconstruction and Stability

With the support of key regional allies like Russia and Iran, Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has reclaimed the majority of territory that had been held by opposition groups, and has now set its sights on reconstruction. But while power is being consolidated, and Assad has worked to present a state of calm to the world, his regime still lacks the financial capacity to begin the process of rebuilding the country on its own, and will likely require international funding to do so. Complicating this process is the regime’s recent release of death notices confirming the murders of thousands of Syrian political prisoners, and millions of Syrian refugees who remain displaced by the country’s civil war. On August 29, Hudson Institute hosted a panel to discuss the obstacles complicating reconstruction in Syria. Panelists included: Bassam Barabandi, a former Syrian civil servant; Charles Lister, a senior fellow and director of the Extremism and Counterterrorism Program at the Middle East Institute; Mike Pr