China’s long bet on Assad collapsed overnight, forcing Beijing to confront a Syria reshaped by new leadership, shifting alliances, and rising regional competition. As Damascus recalibrates its foreign policy, China now finds itself weighing security threats, economic opportunity, and geopolitical risk in a rapidly evolving landscape.

In this episode, we examine what China wants in post-Assad Syria, what Syria needs from Beijing, and how this relationship could reshape sanctions relief, reconstruction, and regional diplomacy. Featuring expert insights from Jesse Marks

Syria’s October 2025 parliamentary elections were presented as a milestone in the country’s political transition, the first to take place since the fall of Bashar al-Assad. Yet beneath the language of reform, the process remained tightly managed, reflecting familiar patterns of control and limited participation.
The elections ultimately raised a fundamental question: were they a genuine exercise of choice or an illusion of it? In our first episode, Mutasem Al-Syoufi of The Day After (TDA) unpacks what the vote truly delivered and what it reveals about the trajectory of Syria’s political transition.
Expert Guest:
A long-time advocate for democratic reform, Mutasem has been active in Syria’s civic and political landscape since the early 2000s, taking part in the Damascus Spring and Damascus Declaration movements.
Under his leadership, TDA has become a leading organisation advancing Syria’s democratic transition, supporting electoral governance, training local councils, and providing technical assistance to the Syrian Supreme Elections Committee for the October 2025 parliamentary elections to promote transparency, inclusivity, and credible participation.