Since the third day after the fall of the Syrian regime, international visits to Damascus and meetings with the new leader in Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, have not ceased. Despite the great surprise of Assad's escape in less than two weeks and leaving the country in ruins, the international and regional dealings with Syria have been remarkable and swift. The reason is clear: there is an international will to contain the major transformation in Syria and the Middle East. Even now, Syria is experiencing a state of turmoil at the international and local levels, especially since the incoming government has an Islamic background. This is what makes the world's eyes turn to Syria and to ensure that the messages conveyed by the new leaders in Damascus are positive. In fact, all countries, whether they have visited Damascus or are still under observation, are monitoring the Syrian scene in some way and how Ahmed al-Sharaa will manage it.

The first words that the regime sought to repeat in every meeting were that Syria had moved from the stage of revolution to the stage of statehood. If this phrase is the true goal of the new leadership, then the magnitude of the challenges will be greater than the new leadership can bear alone. This means that the state and the state mindset are based on the concepts of participation, diversity, justice, and governance based on the principle of citizenship, not ideology. This is one of the most difficult challenges in the new stage! Syria is an exceptional case not only because of its geographical location, but also because it emerged from a war in which sectarianism was inflamed for 13 years, and it reached the depths of civil war. Assad tried all kinds of religious, sectarian, ethnic, and tribal wars on the people, and Syria turned into a fetid swamp for 13 years. Hence, healing the wounds of the past requires time for Syria to recover from all the Caesarean operations on society.

So far, no one knows what kind of state Ahmed al-Sharaa wants, and no one knows what the countries want from this new leadership. Al-Sharaa may have passed, so far, the sectarian or doctrinal test that has always been a Syrian and international obsession, but the truth is that this Syrian test at the social level was successful by unexpected standards, and this is the first test for the state.

The second worthy test, which will be the first path of longing on the path of legitimacy, is the unity of Syria in light of the state of geographical fragmentation and the failure to resolve the postponed disputes with the “self-administration” in northeastern Syria, and the transition to unifying Syria under the authority of the state, and unification of course not in the manner of the Baathist unilateralism, but rather in the manner of the national state. This requires a long path, and it cannot be done in a transitional period of three months at all. This means that the rule of the new administration will continue for at least two to three years in order to be able to put the country on the right path, and during this stage many of the political and social contradictions in the Syrian situation that have been on the shelf for six decades since the rule of the Baath in 1963 will appear.

Zeroing out problems

The most important issue is that positive messages alone are not enough; the pages must be turned completely, especially by neighboring countries. Everything that is said needs actions, not words. No one expects anything from Syria today except actions. Therefore, "zeroing out problems" is the first step that enables the new leadership to govern without wasting its efforts on regional issues. Herein also lies the role of the League of Arab States.

In the middle of the nineteenth century, Germany was suffering from fragmentation and division. Fortunately for Germany, it had the well-known politician Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck. This man is still a big name in the history of Germany. He harnessed the three short wars against Denmark, Austria, and France in order to unite the Germans under the banner of one state. Indeed, Bismarck’s strategy in unifying Germany was an example of investing in wars positively, and establishing what is called the “Second German Reich.”.

At the same time, after Germany’s short wars, Bismarck turned to nation-building, and nation-building was primarily through the gateway of the economy. Indeed, Germany has been and still is the European economic mind for decades, and what Germany is experiencing today in terms of the strength of the German economy is the result of historical accumulations.

Syria today needs a (Bismarck) with Syrian specifications. It has a people who have suffered from the experience of wars, who have discovered that wars do not resolve or solve issues. They are in dire need of unity today. Perhaps the bitter experience of refuge, violence, and killing has brought Syrians to the lowest point, a lesson that cannot be forgotten, and it will not be overcome except by working to avoid sectarian, regional, or religious clashes in the country.

One-color rule

Certainly, the fall of the Syrian Baathist regime, represented by the Assad family, is a great lesson for every ruler who enters the palace. This is a new rule in Syria: that dictatorship and one-party rule will not survive in Syria, and that power is deadly for the ruler and the people. Therefore, there is no option but to move towards the concept of the state.

Syria is at a major crossroads. It has the opportunity to become the Japan of the Middle East if it overcomes the external and internal political traps. The human resources spread throughout the world, the experiences that Syrians have gained abroad over the past years, in addition to the economic capabilities and other elements, would transform Syria into an exceptional country and a center of political and economic attraction.