Bashar al-Assad is hollowing out Syria’s ravaged state
Protection rackets and drug-dealing are big sources of income
Forget flamboyant Arab dictators in military attire laden with medals or clad in swirling tribal robes. Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s president, is the picture of modesty. Usually he wears no jewellery, no wedding ring nor even a glittering watch. His preferred garb is a plain black suit and tie. His speeches are a cure for insomnia. Yet in a region of kleptocratic rulers, few have plundered their country so completely.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Gobbling up whatever is left”
From the June 18th 2022 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Middle East & Africa
Three big lawsuits against Meta in Kenya may have global implications
One was prompted by the murder of an Ethiopian professor
Trump should try to end, not manage, the Middle East’s oldest conflicts
And he should see the region as more than a source of instability and arms deals
Government by social media in Somalia
Cheap data, social media and creativity are filling in for an absent state
The Gaza ceasefire is stoking violence in the West Bank
Hamas and the Israeli far right both want to destabilise the West Bank
How Turkey plans to expand its influence in the new Syria
Its influence could cause tensions with the Arab world—and Israel
The start of a fragile truce in Gaza offers relief and joy
But the ceasefire is not yet the end of the war