ACMCU presents a discussion with Dr. Fawaz Gerges, Professor of International Relations and Chair in Contemporary Middle Eastern Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Dr. Gerges addresses the recent events in Syria, focusing on the emergence of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — an ultra-conservative Salafi-Sunni organization led by Ahmed al-Sharaa (Abu Muhammed al-Jolani) — as the dominant de facto government in post-Assad Syria. He explores the challenges posed by HTS’s control, including questions about its governance of Syria’s diverse population and the risk of opposition faction fragmentation, which could deepen the country’s instability and transform it into a volatile proxy battlefield.