Most observers did not expect the Arab spring to spread to Syria, for a number of seemingly good reasons. Yet, with amazing rapidity, massive and unprecedented anti-regime mobilization took place, which put the regime very much on the defensive; what began as the Syrian Uprising in March 2011 has evolved into one of the world's most damaging and protracted conflicts. Despite nearly six years having passed since the inception of the Syrian Uprising, this phenomenon remains difficult to fully grasp, both in terms of underlying forces and long-term implications. This book presents a snapshot of how the uprising developed in roughly the first two to three years (2011-2013) and addresses key questions regarding the domestic origins of the uprising and its early trajectory. Firstly, what were the causes of the conflict, both in terms of structure (contradictions and crisis within the pre-uprising order) and agency (choices of the actors)? Why did the uprising not lead to democratization and instead descended into violent civil war with a sectarian dimension? With all 19 chapters addressing an aspect of the uprising, the book focuses on internal dynamics, whilst a subsequent volume will look at the international dimension of the uprising. Taking an innovative and interdisciplinary approach that seeks to capture the full complexity of the phenomenon, this book contributes significantly to our understanding of the Syrian conflict, and will therefore be a valuable resource for anyone studying Middle Eastern Politics.

Introduction : origins of the Syrian uprising--from structure to agency / Raymond Hinnebusch and Omar Imady -- The tragedy of Ba'thist state-building / Adham Saouli -- The power of "sultanism" : why Syria's non-violent protests did not lead to a democratic transition / Søren Schmidt -- The dynamics of power in Syria : generalized corruption and sectarianism / Stéphane Valter -- The uprising and the economic interests of the Syrian military-mercantile complex / Salam Said -- Revisiting the political economy of the Syrian uprising / Fred H. Lawson -- Tutelary authoritarianism and the shifts between secularism and Islam in Syria / Line Khatib -- Organisationally secular : Damascene Islamist movements and the Syrian uprising / Omar Imady -- Bashar's fateful decision / David W. Lesch -- The Alawis : structure, perception and agency in the Syrian security dilemma / Leon T. Goldsmith -- Emergence of the political voice of Syria's civil society : the non-violent movements of the Syrian uprising / Tamara Al-Om -- Demands for dignity and the Syrian uprising / Juliette Harken -- Mediating the Syrian revolt : how new media technologies change the development of social movements and conflicts / Billie Jeanne Brownlee -- Unblurring ambiguities : assessing the impact of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood in the Syrian revolution -- Naomí Ramírez Díaz -- Sectarianism and the battle of narratives in the context of the Syrian uprising / Enrico Bartolomei -- Sunni/Alawi identity clashes during the Syrian uprising : a continuous reproduction? / Ola Rifai -- The rise of Syrian Salafism : from denial to recognition / Issam Eido -- From a window in Jaramana : imperial sectarianism and the impact of war on a Druze neighbourhood in Syria / Maria Kastrinou -- The left in the Syrian uprising / Ferdinand Arslanian -- Political incongruity between the Kurds and the "opposition" in the Syrian uprising Deniz Çifçi -- Conclusion : the early trajectory of the Syrian uprising : from agency to structure / Omar Imady and Raymond Hinnebusch.