Rebuilding Syria focuses on the dramatic changes happening in Syria after the fall of the Assad regime. It begins with a series of reflections that draw upon Khoury’s Syrian American heritage, background in Middle East Studies, decades of cultural and political activism, and experiences of both Syria and the Syrian diaspora. Khoury offers a candid and subjective analysis of a country on the precipice of profound recovery and renewal or continued conflict and despair. Further down the line, he hopes to interview scholars, artists, and activists with ties to Syria.

In that vein, Rebuilding Syria is guided by insight and hope, cautious optimism, and win-win pragmatism. It is, in many respects, a love letter to Syria and the Syrian people, but doesn’t omit painful truths and sobering assessments. It is intended to support visions of a new Syria that are just, pluralistic, and free.

In this introductory episode, we look at the dramatic fall of Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad, ending a 54-year brutal and genocidal regime instituted by his father before him. Syria now faces a challenging and complicated period of rebuilding, but one thing is crystal clear: The Syrian people demanded the fall of the regime, and they succeeded.

Syrians never accepted dictatorship as destiny, but what did they explicitly reject when they rose up against the Assad regime? In Part 2 of Rebuilding Syria, we examine the litany of no’s articulated by the Syrian people, which ultimately led to the regime's demise.