The book draws on dozens of interviews with al-Sharaa, his associates who later became ministers, dissidents and opponents, as well as diplomats.
www.amazon.com/Transformed-... www.amazon.co.uk/Transformed-...

In addition to the typos, also forgot the main argument!
The book’s main argument is that HTS was "transformed by the people". The constraints of Idlib’s social context and of the international environment before the 2024 takeover of Idlib forced the group to change, in very lasting ways

The book is available in Europe, on Kindle in Europe and the US, and in the US in early November

We conclude with an epilogue, written in spring 2025, warning of the rise of a new populist trend in Syria, one driven from the bottom up, seeking supremacy and revenge. This emerging dynamic signals a shift that could reshape the post-HTS landscape in unpredictable and destabilising ways

We also examine the tensions in Idlib before 2024: the rise of a populist current pushing for stricter implementation of Islamic law, and how HTS responded. Even more telling was HTS’s handling of last year’s protest movement, which demanded political opening, reforms, and an end to abuses.

We also explore HTS’s Salafism in depth showing how, without abandoning Salafism, the group stripped it of most of its political implications. This enables us to analyse HTS’s religious governance, and its approach to religious minorities, in essentially non-religious, even “secularised,” terms.

The book details how HTS imposed itself over rival factions - especially mainstream Islamists like Ahrar al-Sham - waged war on al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, and brought foreign fighters under its control.

In the conclusion, we also compare HTS’s trajectory to European far-right movements that sought to “de-demonise” themselves, showing how strategies of rebranding and normalisation extend well beyond Syria (the comparison might not please everyone!)

This change proved lasting and political, with no possible return though, paradoxically, it was largely unintended at the outset.
Rather than comparing HTS to other Islamist movements, we place it in the context of a revolutionary situation par excellence: the last phase of the French Revolution.

The book draws on dozens of interviews with al-Sharaa, his associates who later became ministers, dissidents and opponents, as well as diplomats.
www.amazon.com/Transformed-... www.amazon.co.uk/Transformed-...

The arrival of Ahmad al-Sharaa in NYC for the UNGA is a timely moment to highlight our new book, published a few weeks ago in Europe and in a month ago in the US (already on Kindle). What lessons can we draw from the past? A threat

Our book is finally out in the UK and Europe! (also in a week or so on the kindle in the US, and early November for the hardback in North America). You have read parts of the first chapters on google book: www.google.fr/books/editio...

Congratulations Patrick Haenni and @jeromed.bsky.social, Transformed by the People is out now👏

‘Essential reading.’ @irishtimes.com

‘Haenni and Drevon have done the impossible… a gem, a superb, edifying and eye-opening account.’—Robert Malley

25% off w/code TRANSFORMED25➡️ tinyurl.com/mb4nrc7n

Really cool work out by @andresuribe.bsky.social and colleauges on estimating the prevalence of criminal governance in Latin America ⤵️

The first generous review of our book @irishtimes.com
"impressive study of the group, based on a wide range of detailed interviews, including with Shaara. [The book] is probably the best of its kind in English to date on the subject and is essential reading" www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...

New article by @jeromed.bsky.social et al., The end of Jihadi Salafism? The religious governance of HTS, the Post-Jihadi rebel ruler in Northern Syria www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

As POTUS meets Syrian President Al-Sharaa, the world asks how an Al-Qaeda affiliated jihadi group evolved into the movement rebuilding Syria post-Assad. Find out how in 'Transformed by the People' by @jeromed.bsky.social & Patrick Haenni. Pre-order here ➡️ tinyurl.com/mr9w9tex

tinyurl.com/4cbrp9de

So excited to see this out. Stathis and I presented a first version of this paper at APSA in 2010.

NEW OP-ED | Syria’s Uncertain New Order

Many are worried about the possibility of a return to a one-party state—much like that of the Assad regime. But many Syrians perceive their new leader, correctly, as a radical pragmatist, writes @jeromed.bsky.social.

www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-...

Read @jeromed.bsky.social on the factors that will make it more difficult for Syria’s new government to consolidate its hold over the country—and to get all of the country’s constituent groups on board:

… Sharaa is seen as a radical pragmatist, willing to make concessions and abandon alliances in pursuit of power.

But it does not seem Syria will again become a one-state autocracy, even if that were an outcome that Shara wanted, @jeromed.bsky.social argues.
www.foreignaffairs.com/syria/syrias...

On the nature of the new Syrian government and its challenges www.foreignaffairs.com/syria/syrias... @crisisgroup.org @foreignaffairs.com

NEW Q&A | A Glimmer of Peace in Syria’s North East

An accord between Damascus’s interim government and the Kurdish-led SDF could mark a shift in Syria’s post-Assad transition. Crisis Group experts explain what the deal contains and what it means for the region.

www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-...

Crisis Group's last briefing on Syria after the downfall of the Assad regime