Understanding Syria: Past, Present, and Future
A Crown Seminar with Daniel Neep, in conversation with Omar Dahi, on the occasion of the publication of Syria: A Modern History
Thursday, April 30
11 AM-12:15 PM
Online (Register for virtual attendance)
Syria’s modern history is often explained through political polarization and communal conflict. Such accounts, however, tend to overlook another important dimension: the economic and geographical dynamics of uneven development. In this Crown Seminar celebrating the publication of his new book Syria: A Modern History, Daniel Neep shows how these inequalities have repeatedly fueled rebellion and repression—from Ottoman reforms and French rule to Baʿathist state-building, the 2011 uprising, and the Assad regime’s collapse in 2024. In conversation with Omar Dahi, Neep examines how the modern Syrian state was forged not only through sectarian politics, but through struggles over land, resources, and regional power, offering a new lens on Syria’s past and its political future.
Daniel Neep is a senior editor at Arab Center Washington DC and a non-resident fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies.
Omar Dahi is a professor of economics at Hampshire College.