After the Victory of Islamist Rebels, What’s Next for Syria?

The demise of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s repressive regime in early December was achieved by a surprise push into the capital Damascus led by a group of Islamist rebels. The group, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, which grew out of the radical al-Qaeda organization, has declared an interim government to administer areas under its control.

What comes next for Syria, after 13 years of civil conflict, will depend on how radically or moderately the victorious Islamists impose their will, especially on women and on minority groups that don’t share their Sunni Muslim religion; how Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham and other armed forces coalesce; and how foreign stakeholders exploit the power vacuum created.