Yasser Munif is a professor of sociology at Emerson College where he teaches courses on nationalism, political economy, Middle Eastern politics, and social movements. He is a co-founder of the "Global Campaign of Solidarity with the Syrian Revolution" which aims to shed light on the minutiae of resistance and everyday struggle. He recently spent two months in Northern Syria where he is conducting research on local governance, post-Assad reconstruction, and internally displaced persons.

The Syrian revolution is going through the most critical period since its outbreak 31 months ago. The violence of the regime has been steadily increasing and while a new chemical attack is unlikely, the Syrian army has developed and been using a new weapon of mass destruction. It is starving the population on a massive scale by besieging entire regions and forcing residents to leave their houses. At the international level, the United States and Russia are facing each other in the Syrian arena and are each trying to impose their world-views on Syrians. Regional players such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel, and Turkey have been confronting each other by arming and funding different local players. Finally, al-Qaeda opened a second front in the North to undermine the revolutionary process and turn it into a clash of civilization between Muslims and infidels. Despite these global designs and regional geostrategies, the Syrian people are keeping their revolution alive. Yasser Munif talks about his recent visit to Northern Syria by focusing on everyday struggles, participatory democracy, and local governance

 

 

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