Turkey insists on imposing a centralized nation-state structure in Syria. As is well known, the Baath regime also enforced an excessively centralized state model. Its single-party system allowed no opposition and no room for diversity. At its core, it was a fascistic structure in which society could not breathe. While these facts are clear, one must ask why Turkey insists on a rigid, monolithic centralized state model. The answer is obvious: to prevent Kurdish people from gaining any form of political status. To ensure that Kurds “see no sunlight” and obtain no status, Syria is being pushed into an even darker and more repressive tunnel than under the Baath regime.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is, ideologically, a sectarian formation grounded in religious fundamentalism and inherently opposed to democracy. It sees diversity as a threat and denies any space for difference. Its mentality is monolithic, closed to egalitarian and pluralistic political structures. It prioritizes obedience over freedoms. Those who refuse to submit, such as Alawites and Druze, are subjected to massacres. By relying on outdated and regressive interpretations, it seeks to suffocate society and legitimize the elimination of anyone who does not align with it, issuing religious edicts declaring them “permissible to kill.”
Remembering the Baath era
By its structure and mindset, HTS is a group that seeks power. Movements driven by excessive quests for power inevitably drift toward fascism. They do not tolerate opposition. They cannot endure the organization of different political forces or allow them to compete under equal conditions. The Baath experience stands as a clear example. The Baath regime excluded anyone who was not one of its own or who refused to join its party system. To obtain a position in the bureaucracy, build a career, or benefit from the state’s resources, one had to be part of them. Anyone who thought differently, or voiced criticism would find the intelligence services and the police at their heels. Such individuals were exposed to every form of danger. Torture, years of imprisonment without due process or the right to defend oneself, gradually became standard practice. Those who found themselves in such a situation either surrendered, begged for mercy, or lost their lives. Among those who could no longer stay in Syria and whose lives were at risk, only the lucky ones managed to escape abroad.
The country’s intellectual and scholarly potential was destroyed. Society was pushed out of political life. People were deprived of avenues for organization and for claiming their rights. The public was essentially told: “Leave politics and governance to us; you focus on your livelihood.” Under such conditions, the emergence of a democratic culture was impossible. The Baath regime held elections to claim legitimacy, but never once did a real election take place. Everything was planned and determined from the center. Election results never contained surprises or differences. Hafez al-Assad, or later Bashar al-Assad, would be “elected” with close to 100 percent of the vote every time.
So, what is HTS doing?
HTS has now formed a “temporary government” without including anyone or building any form of consensus. They selected their own president. They drafted the temporary constitution themselves. Intellectuals and diverse social groups were excluded from both the constitutional discussions and the drafting process. They claim they will establish a parliament, yet one-third of its members will be directly appointed by Ahmed al-Sharaa (Al-Jolani), while the rest will be appointed by a committee chosen by them. Can this reasonably be called an election? Can it be described as democracy or an expression of the people’s will? Of course not.
HTS says it will build an army. Those recruited are subjected to strict religious indoctrination and are infused with HTS ideology. It is clear that no national army can emerge from such a structure. At the same time, they openly state that dozens of armed groups originating from ISIS and al-Qaeda, groups deeply implicated in war crimes and crimes against humanity, will be incorporated directly into this army. There is no military force here that protects the country or ensures the security of its people; the reality is the opposite. The same is true for internal security and police forces. HTS appoints all security chiefs and personnel itself. They assign governors. They appoint mosque imams. Claiming to “cleanse” the bureaucracy of remnants of the Baath regime, they are placing their own cadres into every administrative level of the state. All state-owned media outlets and television channels left by the regime have been taken under their monopoly, and a one-sided propaganda apparatus has been established. They have also seized the state’s existing resources, revenues, and economic assets for themselves.
Corruption, abuse and injustice become impossible to prevent
A power-centered political approach and administration, as we see here, gradually centralizes all authority and resources in its own hands. Such a centralized state structure descends upon society like a nightmare. It also produces an extremely heavy, costly and inefficient model of governance. All the country’s resources fall at the mercy of those who control this machinery. Corruption, abuse and injustice become impossible to prevent. Severe inequality in income distribution becomes inevitable. Instead of dispensing justice, the judiciary transforms into a weapon used to protect the interests of those in power and to suppress anyone who objects.
The need for democratic reconstruction
The consequences and negative outcomes of a monolithic and centralized state can be listed at great length and the Baath experience stands as proof. For this reason, establishing a system based on democratic, decentralized, federal, autonomous or strengthened local administrations is the most realistic option. Syria needs a pluralistic, freedom-oriented and democratic reconstruction.
