Misreading the regime as a stable status quo actor, rather than a cornered regime, could become one of the most consequential strategic mistakes in the years ahead.
Author - Erfan Fard
Erfan Fard is a counter-terrorism analyst and Middle East Studies researcher based in Washington, DC.
More articles from Erfan Fard
In practice, the rise of such a notorious, lethal figure underscores that these enforcers exist for one purpose alone: the preservation of the regime.
Waves of unemployment, poverty, repression and are forming a mass of the dispossessed and the enraged, who can challenge the foundations of the government amid turbulence and chaos.
The ruling power has blocked all paths of reform, peaceful transition and rule of law; it has inflicted such damage on civilian society that its repair may not be possible even in the next half-century.
