Syria in transition: A look at the democratic process and self-administration in Rojava

An info evening with the journalists Osama Abdullah (WAV Recherchekollektiv) and Bartholomäus Laffert (Selbstlaut Kollektiv)

Syria is in upheaval. At the end of 2024, dictator Bashar al-Assad was forced to flee the country. The fighters led by the Islamist militia Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the ex-ISIS and al-Qaeda fighter Ahmed al-Sharaa entered the Syrian capital Damascus to great acclaim. A lot has happened since then: Numerous states normalized their relations with the country, there is a constitutional process, and a transitional government was presented at the end of March.

But where is this development leading? And what does the process dominated by Islamist forces mean for minorities in the country, especially for self-administration in northern and eastern Syria?

We talk about this with journalists Osama Abdullah (WAV Research Collective) and Bartholomäus Laffert (Selbstlaut Kollektiv).

“Nothing illustrates [the] political lack of imagination as clearly as the constitutional declaration of the Syrian Arab Republic signed on March 13, 2025.” Osama Abdullah writes in his article in the online magazine Republik. After twelve years in exile, the journalist returns to his home country in January 2025. He encounters profound changes and challenges - and political developments that dampen his initial hopes.

Since the fall of the Assad regime, the self-administration in northern and eastern Syria, also known as Rojava, describes itself as the “oldest force in Syria these days”. Bartholomäus Laffert wrote this in the weekly newspaper WOZ after a visit to the city of Kobane in January 2025. The self-administration in northern and eastern Syria is treating the regime change with caution. After initial attempts at rapprochement, the self-administration rejected the constitutional process and transitional government presented in March. What do the representatives on the ground say and what are the prospects under al-Sharaa?

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