Thread by @EHSANI221

When one participates in any Eco / Political discussions in multi-Religious / Sectarian regions like the Levant #Lebanon #Syria , one question always emerges:

Can the people of this region Co-exist?

Can they accept / embrace the other side?

By all accounts, answer seems No

2-War in #Syria has rendered the days of heavy top-down Centralized State obsolete. Efforts must now be exclusively directed at formulating a new post war system that takes away power from the center & hands it to the periphery as this is the de facto state of affairs anyway

3-While #Lebanon already had its own civil war, it is not difficult to notice the return of the old sectarian cleavages that never went away. As the pie gets smaller with the current crisis, divisions have intensified & spirit of co-existence is tested in daily commentary

4-#Federalism has become a new code word for admitting that co-existence is no longer possible or desirable. Vast majority of those pushing for the change are seemingly Christians who are fed up seeing their way of life get steadily diluted & even eroded by....you fill the blanks

5-This is not to say that non-sectarian voices who plead for need for co-existence don't exist. Sadly, every time you scratch a bit under the surface or when an economic, political or social crisis emerges, the sectarian demons quickly return & reality sets in

6-Remember that pre-war, #Syria had drafted its own de-centralization law. Per Wikileaks emails, when Assad was getting ready to sign it, his close advisors wrote urging him not to sign for fear that Islamists would heavily invest in local municipal elections & win

7-Close influential friend is super passionate about de-centralization in #Syria . It's hard to argue against the merits of the initiative. Every time one starts to get into the details, however, enormous challenges quickly emerge-Challenges to do w the journey of getting there