Like many others, I was completely taken by surprise by the triumph of the Syrian revolution, a prodigious surprise, a rare horizon of hope at a time of undeniable global fascization. Like some, I could not resist going as soon as possible to Damascus, to Yarmouk, to Saednaya, to Aleppo, and other places. It is from this material that the texts of this column are drawn - a column generously hosted by the wonderful journal Les Temps qui restent. I do not claim to offer a comprehensive perspective on the dynamics and stakes of Syria’s dizzying reality. Rather, these texts should be read as 'idea reports' written in the first person, in which I hope to capture certain historical features of a moment destined to be as miraculous as it is decisive.

First part : La possibilité du salut
Second part : Le retour inattendu de la question nationale au Proche-Orient
Third part : Après l'utopie, le présent
Forth part : À l’ombre de la révolution syrienne, la nouvelle question moderne
Conclusion : Interview with Yassin al-Haj Saleh