This book presents a snapshot of how the Syrian 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.

1. Introduction: Origins of the Syrian Uprising - from structure to agency, Raymond Hinnebusch and Omar Imady 2. The tragedy of Ba'thist state-building, Adham Saouli 3. The power of 'Sultanism': Why Syria's non-violent protests did not lead to a democratic transition, Søren Schmidt 4. The dynamics of power in Syria: Generalized corruption and sectarianism, Stéphane Valter 5. The Uprising and the economic interests of the Syrian Military-Mercantile Complex, Salam Said 6. Revisiting the political economy of the Syrian Uprising, Fred H. Lawson 7. Tutelary authoritarianism and the shifts between secularism and Islam in Syria, Line Khatib 8. Organisationally secular: Damascene Islamist movements and the Syrian Uprising, Omar Imady 9. Bashar's fateful decision, David W. Lesch 10. Syria's Alawis: Structure, perception and agency in the Syrian security dilemma, Leon Goldsmith 11. Emergence of the political voice of Syria's civil society: the non-violent movements of the Syrian Uprising, Tamara Al-Om 12. Demands for dignity and the Syrian Uprising, Juliette Harken 13. Mediating the Syrian revolt: how new media technologies change the development of social movements and conflicts, Billie Jeanne Brownlee 14. Unblurring ambiguities: Assessing the Impact of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood in the Syrian revolution, Naomí Ramírez Díaz 15. Sectarianism and the battle of narratives in the context of the Syrian Uprising, Enrico Bartolomei 16. Sunni/Alawi identity clashes during the Syrian Uprising: A continuous reproduction? Ola Rifai 17. The rise of Syrian Salafism: From denial to recognition, Issam Eido 18. From a window in Jaramana: Imperial sectarianism and the impact of war on a Druze neighbourhood in Syria, Maria Kastrinou 19. The Left in the Syrian Uprising, Ferdinand Arslanian 20. Political incongruity between the Kurds and the 'opposition' in the Syrian Uprising, Deniz Çifçi 21. Conclusion: The early trajectory of the Syrian Uprising: From agency to structure, Omar Imady and Raymond Hinnebusch