This book explores the implications for Syria’s population amidst regime change and considers potential outcomes for its various religious and ethnic groups, economic and development prospects and position in terms of regional peace and security. The al-Sharaa government has promoted the public rhetoric that they will not be a sectarian government and that they have the capability to both protect and promote all Syrians including its religious minorities. However, it has so far proved incapable of doing so. Foreign interventions may become more frequent as a result, and Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty will continue to be threatened. Syria’s geographic location in the centre of the Middle East is a significant one and there are a number of global states as well as numerous non-state actors that have specific interests in the territory. The implications of this for regional peace and security are varied. All of these nuances of regime change in Syria are explored in this book.

Professor Saja Al Zoubi is a development studies scholar at Dalhousie University specializing in forced migration, gender equality, rural livelihoods, and food security. She has held academic and research appointments at Oxford, Glasgow, and Saint Mary’s University. Her research advances inclusive policies and capacity-building initiatives that support displaced, marginalized, and refugee communities

Dr. Natalie Ann Ghosn, Esq. holds a B.A., J.D., LL.B., LL.M., and Ph.D. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Miami, Department of International Studies. She is licensed to practice law in the State of Florida and the province of Nova Scotia. She currently teaches in the political science and law justice and society programs at Dalhousie University and also practices complex litigation law on a fulltime basis. She recently published, Religion, Law and Dispute Resolution in Canada and the USA (Palgrave-MacMillan, 2024).

Hanna Samir Kassab, PhD is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Security Studies at East Carolina University. His most recent book, Post-Colonial Realism: Cultural Conflicts, Cuisine, and the Changing International System covers the centrality of culture in state behavior (published by Routledge). His journal articles include “Mackinder’s Heartland Thesis and the Belt and Road Initiative: Russia’s Growing Dependence on China in the Aftermath of the Ukraine War” in AUSTRAL and “Prestige, Humiliation And Saving Face: National Identity and Great Power Politics” in Contemporary Military Challenges.