Irecently met Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa with a small group of journalists and scholars at the People’s Palace in Damascus. The conversation lasted more than two hours and spanned sectarian conflict and reconstruction, Israel and Turkey, Russia and the U.S., the Islamic State, and the restive northeast. But what stuck with me was much simpler. The most urgent question for Syria’s stability after the toppling of Bashar al-Assad 10 months ago has shifted from who rules Damascus to how Syrians share power beyond it.

Just this week, deadly clashes erupted between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led forces in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh. A ceasefire followed with quiet help from U.S. and Turkish interlocutors, but the clash is a warning of how fast Syria could slide

See Full Page