From tribal to institutional régimes

Update 1: see a follow-on post here.

Update 2: ref. 2026 current affairs, see here “the doctrine of velayat‑e faqih (“guardianship of the jurist”) that structures Iran’s political system, then compares it with two other religion‑state models—Saudi Arabia’s Islamic monarchy and the Vatican’s papal theocracy—and with Jewish tradition, which develops a rich legal‑religious system (halakha) but does not instantiate a modern, centralized theocratic state. The aim is to clarify how different traditions conceive the relationship between religious authority and political sovereignty, especially as Iran faces a succession crisis around its new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei”.

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 The recent overthrow of the Assad regime in Syria heralds something new. The HTS (Organisation of the Liberation of the Levant) leader Abu Jolani interviewed by CNN Middle-east correspondent  talks about how the rebel army was knit into a cohesive group with military discipline. This in turn came from developing cohesive alliances in Irbil Province at first, around institutions integrating ethnic and religious groups. That in turn reflects Jolani's desire to establish a new regime based on institutions and the rule of law. Mainly from the video below, this story continues... and it sits at the cusp of Medium stories on China (see update here) and on the new Middle Ages here.

Leaving aside Religion vs. State, I say that Assad represented the previous tribal régime covered in this blog: cult of personality, individual leadership with little or no institutional support: for example a son was the only succession; normally institutions succeed individuals as a means to stabilise a regime, to spread the rule away from an individual who can be arbitrary if not short-lived, and toward a longer-term common rule approved by either a council or the people. In other worlds from the tribal to the institutional, which historically lead eventually to democracy.

This is not unlike business: a company is launched by an individual(s) whose ideas and innovation prevail at first. But as the company grows, responsibilities devolve to a group with complimentary talents such as accounting, marketing, sales or PR. Eventually that company incorporates, and ensure its survival past the founder(s).

Watch this video and read its synopsis below:

Syria Rebel Leader Abu Jolani In An Exclusive Interview With CNN | Syria News | World | N18G

The goal of Syria’s rebel coalition, as it wrests another major city from government control this week, is ultimately to overthrow authoritarian President Bashar al-Assad, according to Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the militant leader of the main group driving the country’s armed opposition.

In an exclusive interview with CNN, Jolani left no doubt that the ambitions of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) – a group that was formed out of a former al Qaeda affiliate – are nothing less than bringing an end to the Assad regime. In his first sit-down media interview in years, at an undisclosed location in Syria, he spoke about plans to create a government based on institutions and a “council chosen by the people.”

Source: CNN