On one side is Assad’s minority Alawite tribe, which over the years has attracted secular Sunnis to share in the spoils of a one-party, authoritarian state. But Assad’s coalition is broader than that, which helps to explain how he has been able to hold on to power while other regimes in the region have not.
一方是总统阿萨德所属的少数伊斯兰什叶派阿拉维派部族，多年来他们一直与世俗逊尼派共同分享一个一党独裁国家所带来的甜头。但阿萨德的联盟构成可比这更广泛，也足以解释他为什么能在本地区其他政权先后崩溃的情况下屹立不倒。叙利亚的基督教徒——其中绝大部分是150万库尔德人——甚至还有主要分布在首都大马士革的世俗阶层，都被迫加入一个可能在执政后不会支持文化多元主义的宗派主义逊尼派反对派——这点在叙利亚国内司空见惯，但在国际上却鲜为人知。