HTS's Statehood Project in Syria and its Effects on Alawites Violence and Identity Politics

This study analyzes the effects of statehood processes on the Alawite community from a political science perspective by examining the case of the "Syrian Salvation Government" (SLA) established in and around Idlib by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a non-state armed actor in the Syrian civil war. HTS's salafi-jihadist ideology, power strategies and use of violence are evaluated in the context of the targeting of Alawite identity as a political enemy and systematic human rights violations. Taking into account factors such as state collapse, proxy wars, political Islam, the role of international actors (especially Turkey), and identity politics, the study provides a multidimensional analysis of HTS's violence against Alawites, regional power dynamics, and the political, social, economic, and security consequences of the conflict for Alawites. HTS/SKH's authoritarian governance approach, institutionalization efforts, sharia-based legal system, war economy-based economic model, legitimacy problem and international non-recognition are examined in detail. Going beyond the sectarianism and proxy war-oriented explanations in the existing literature, the study examines the relationship between power, violence, identity and statehood with concrete data in the Syrian case and offers concrete policy recommendations on conflict resolution, state building and the protection of the rights of Alawites (and other minorities).