Syria after Assad: a reporter’s view on a nation in transition

This talk delivered by Raya Jalabi, Middle East correspondent for the Financial Times, as part of the annual Ian Black Memorial Lecture Series, will examine Syria’s fraught first year in the aftermath of Bashar al-Assad’s fall.

In Damascus, the streets hum with the prospect of returning commerce and a flurry of international diplomacy. Yet beyond the capital’s reach, scars of conflict still linger: villages emptied by displacement, communities unsettled by cycles of revenge and the scourge of poverty in a country where trauma, fear and hope for a new future are frenetically enmeshed.

At its centre is Ahmed al-Sharaa, the former rebel commander who has recast himself as the country’s new powerbroker. His efforts to steady a nation scarred by fourteen years of conflict have been defined by competing pressures: restive minorities demanding greater autonomy, the persistence of revenge killings and social upheaval, and the delicate task of reintroducing Syria to the international stage. This lecture will look at how Sharaa has navigated these crosscurrents in his first year, consolidating authority while attempting to stabilise the country and stave off fragmentation — and consider whether his grip on power can hold.

Meet our speaker and chair

Raya Jalabi (@rayajalabi) is the Middle East Correspondent for the Financial Times covering Iraq, Syria and Lebanon from her base in Beirut. Most recently, Raya covered the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria and the rise of the country’s new leaders from Damascus. Until 2022, Raya was Senior Correspondent for Reuters covering Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, focusing on politics, human rights and the rapid pace of social transformation.

Katerina Dalacoura is Associate Professor in International Relations at LSE and incoming Director of the LSE Middle East Centre.

More about this event

The LSE Middle East Centre (@LSEMiddleEast) builds on LSE's long engagement with the Middle East and North Africa and provides a central hub for the wide range of research on the region carried out at LSE.

This event is part of the Ian Black Memorial Lecture Series. which celebrates the life, ethos and rigour of Dr Ian Black, a veteran Middle East journalist and academic. The first lecture of the series was delivered by Jim Muir in November 2024, a podcast and video of the lecture entitled, A war like no other: challenge and change in reporting Gaza, are available.

Join us on campus or register to watch the event online at LSE Live. LSE Live is the home for our live streams, allowing you to tune in and join the global debate at LSE, wherever you are in the world. If you can't attend live, a video will be made available shortly afterwards on LSE's YouTube channel.

Hashtag for this event: #LSEEvents

From time to time there are changes to event details so we strongly recommend that if you plan to attend this event you check back on this listing on the day of the event.

LSE holds a wide range of events, covering many of the most controversial issues of the day, and speakers at our events may express views that cause offence. The views expressed by speakers at LSE events do not reflect the position or views of the London School of Economics and Political Science.