Economic Governance in Post-Assad Syria: Actors, Power Relations, and Future Scenarios

Authors: Dr Rasha Sirop and Zaki Mehchy

Published by the Working Group on Economy and Development, an FES Syria initiative, in partnership with the Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform (PeaceRep), this report examines who governs Syria’s economy after the fall of the Assad regime – and through which institutions, networks, and mechanisms of influence. Using a political economy lens, the report maps the formal, informal, and external actors shaping economic decision-making in Syria’s transitional phase. It argues that the country’s core economic challenge is not limited to reconstruction or growth, but lies in the governance arrangements that determine how resources are managed, how opportunities are allocated, and how influence is negotiated. The paper finds that Syria’s economic governance remains hybrid and fragmented, with official state institutions increasingly constrained by informal networks of influence and supra-ministerial bodies. It identifies three possible trajectories for the coming period: Veiled Dominance, Fragmentation and State Absence, and Structural Reform and Institutional Recovery.

Time stamp: The analysis is based on fieldwork conducted in October–November 2025 and data available up to February 2026; it does not reflect developments after that date.