Sherwan Youssef, Executive Director of the DeFacto Platform for Dialogue and Development, took part in a panel discussion during the Fourth Annual Conference of the Swedish Dialogue Institute for the Middle East and North Africa, held in the Jordanian capital Amman on 26–27 November 2025.
Experts and specialists representing Syrian, regional, and European think tanks and civil society organizations participated in a session titled “Prospects for a Comprehensive Transition in Syria” as well as five other interactive sessions within the conference.
In his remarks, Youssef noted that complex and deep political and social disruptions have emerged in Syria during the post-Assad phase. He said the country is facing multiple scenarios amid widespread uncertainty driven by several key factors: the absence of a clear and shared national vision for the transitional period; regional and international entanglements in the political landscape; the fragility of existing institutions and their inability to meet citizens’ needs; and growing concerns among various communities regarding their roles and representation within the new political structure.
He added that Syrians’ questions about the future today span issues of security, the economy, the constitution, transitional justice, community rights, and reconstruction.
The DeFacto executive director stressed that Syria’s social fabric, emerging from years of war, suffers from fragmentation and a weakened sense of belonging to a common whole. This, he explained, has eroded the national identity once monopolized by the state and turned sub-identities into tools of conflict.
Regarding prospects for a solution, Youssef said rebuilding a new Syrian national identity requires a holistic approach that embraces diversity as a source of strength. This, he reiterated, demands confidence-building through an inclusive national discourse, legal clarity, strong institutions, and a comprehensive transitional justice process.
He concluded that confidence-building measures in Syria require broad support in order to address social fragmentation through genuine participation that can produce a democratic civil state based on citizenship, justice, and stability.
