Charting the Global Economy: Assad’s Fall Adds to Middle East Instability
People gather at Saadallah al-Jabiri Square after the Friday noon prayer in Aleppo on Dec. 13.
Photographer: Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
The toppling of Bashar al-Assad’s government has added a new source of instability in the Middle East, with Turkey asserting itself as the main player in the shaping of Syria’s future.
Turkey has a strong incentive to help forge a stable and peaceful Syria out of the ruins of the Assad regime, not least because the country hosts at least 3 million refugees from its southern neighbor. Turkish companies would also stand to benefit if and when postwar reconstruction starts.