What Assad’s Fall Means For The World : Consider This from NPR

Celebrations in Tariq Jdide, Beirut after the fall of the regime of Bachar al-Assad. December 08 2024. (Photo by Nael Chahine / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by NAEL CHAHINE/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

NAEL CHAHINE/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty

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NAEL CHAHINE/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty

Celebrations in Tariq Jdide, Beirut after the fall of the regime of Bachar al-Assad. December 08 2024. (Photo by Nael Chahine / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by NAEL CHAHINE/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

NAEL CHAHINE/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty

For half a century, one family has brutally ruled Syria. Nearly overnight, that reign ended. Syria is not only a home to millions of people.

It’s also a crucial piece in a geopolitical chess game.

Professor Joshua Landis directs the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma. He explains how we got here, and what comes next.

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