The Assads, like other authoritarian Arab leaders, kept a lid on internal violence and their own citizens’ aspirations. But the sheer complexity of conditions in Syria means that the regime’s endgame could trigger a transition unlike any other in the Arab Spring, different in both its domestic course and in its effects on the region.
巴沙尔政权迟早要倒台，那时，反响或许会更具破坏性。阿萨德家族将和其他阿拉伯世界领袖家族一样，隐瞒国内暴力和公民的意愿。但叙利亚情况的高度复杂性意味着巴沙尔政权的末日将触发与其他阿拉伯之春国家不同的过渡期，不管是国内进程还是地区影响。