State Atrophy in Syria – Harout Akdedian

How do governments contribute to galvanizing public hostility against state institutions? And what are the consequences of undermining the state as a strategy for political change? State Atrophy in Syria highlights how the appropriation of state institutions by public officials limits public capacity to demand accountability from government without having to challenge the state or its institutions. This creates consequential trade-offs for the public. As the Syrian case demonstrates, the undermining of state institutions failed to depose the dictatorship, continuously benefitted AssadÂ’s foreign allies, Russia and Iran, and engendered unprecedented levels of predatory practices against the public.As Syria continues to play a strategic role on the worldÂ’s political stage, the book outlines the countryÂ’s tragic decade and derives lessons for state-society relations in Syria and beyond.