Looking back, the Syrian-American physician-scientist Majd AlGhatrif explains, how Assad dug his own grave: Misguided by himself and detached from his people, the tyrant couldn’t flee his destiny, but enabled it to happen.
In a remarkable turn of events over the past ten days, the swift advance of opposition forces culminated in the capture of Damascus and the flight of President Bashar al-Assad, marking the end of his regime. Syria has witnessed the mass release of prisoners, the return of displaced individuals, and the jubilant celebration of millions freed from five decades of oppression.
Amid these celebrations, however, one cannot but reflect with amazement on Assad's downfall—a story that, for the spectator, plays out the essence of a Greek tragedy, where inherent flaws precipitate inevitable ruin. Assad's personality, as most Syrians saw it, marked by apathy, arrogance, and megalomania, not only brought agony to millions of Syrians but also seems to have prevented him from understanding his allies and adversaries, sowing the seeds of his regime's collapse.
Ascending to power in 2000 after his father's death, Assad initially presented himself as a reformist, offering a glimmer of hope for modernization and openness. However, this facade quickly dissipated, revealing a leader detached from his people's aspirations and grievances. His apathy became glaringly evident during the 2011 Arab Spring, when peaceful protests were met with dismissive rhetoric, in what became known as "the laughing speech", followed by brutal suppression, igniting a civil war that would devastate the nation. This bizarre indifference to popular sentiment intensified domestic unrest, throwing millions of Syrians into a lengthy civil war filled with horrors and pain.
Assad mastered balancing the interests of foreign powers, which led to an unlikely stabilization of his regime for a decade. His arrogance, however, further compounded his detachment from the people. This hubris was starkly displayed in his handling of the period after violence subsided in 2019; he dismissed the legitimacy of dissent and propagated a narrative that denied the victims of violence any solace. His stubbornness to engage in the simplest political reforms led to protracted sanctions that hollowed Syrian institutions and degraded its social fabric. While the shifting political dynamics in Syria and the region were clear to the general audience, it seems that his overconfidence, evidenced by the outcomes, blinded him to these dynamics, leading to strategic miscalculations that gradually eroded his authority.
Megalomania, perhaps the most destructive of Assad's traits, manifested in his unyielding grip on power and the cultivation of a personality cult reminiscent of totalitarian regimes. It is not far-stretched to see this delusion of grandeur alienating his allies and deepening the chasm between the regime and the populace, even his very core base. Assad's self-aggrandizement and refusal to entertain political reforms or power-sharing arrangements entrenched divisions and fueled the insurgency that would challenge his rule.
The culmination of these flaws became evident in recent developments. Despite all his miscalculations in this Greek tragedy, the "gods of fortune" presented Assad with surreal opportunities to get out of his isolation. Multiple attempts from Arab nations, as well as Turkey, sought to normalize relations with Syria, offering Assad a path to reconciliation and stability. As recently as June 2024, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed hope for reconciliation with Assad to end over a decade of tensions between the two countries. Assad, seemingly blinded by his arrogance, played "hard-to-get," turning down mediation efforts from Russia, his main supporter. These efforts were renewed up to ten days ago, even after his main allies Hezbollah and Iran took major blows in the conflict with Israel.
Rebel forces, capitalizing on the regime's weakened state and allies, made significant advances, dramatically capturing the key city of Aleppo. Turkey still offered negotiations, but Assad continued to refuse. The march to Damascus was eventually sanctioned, leading to the city's capture, with reports indicating that Assad fled the capital, marking the end of his regime.
In a modern-day rendition of classical Greek tragedies, Assad, the protagonist, is undone by his hamartia, or fatal flaws. Assad's apathy, arrogance, and megalomania not only precipitated immense suffering for the Syrian people but also orchestrated his political demise. His story serves as a poignant reminder of the perils inherent in despotism and the inexorable consequences of a leader's disconnect from reality and the will of the people.
Majd AlGhatrif is a Syrian-American physician-scientist developing and applying humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding interventions in Syria.
