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Tom Khaled Würdemann (follow on X) is a PhD student at Heidelberg University. He also works as a lecturer at the Police College of the State of Hassia, Germany.

He joins the podcast to talk mainly about the history of Syria and recent events in that country. I am particularly fascinated by the question of why a nation that had multiple coups in the decades before 1970 ended up being ruled by one family for over half a century. We discuss the personalities of Hafez and Bashar al-Assad, and the nature of the mafia state that they created. I knew that part of the regime’s downfall was a result of it no longer having much support from Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah, but Tom explained to me the extent to which the Syrian government itself was hollowed out and had to rely on militias domestically. Once the Assad regime turned on those militias and its foreign backers were distracted, there was no one left to face the rebels.

I personally enjoyed the story of the Druze commander of the Republican Guard Issam Zahreddine, who was jacked and apparently a falconer, although I couldn’t find much detail on this picture. Here’s a hagiographic obituary that is very fun to read but should be taken with a grain of salt of course. I thought since Zahreddine posed with a falcon he was the leader of the Falcons of the Euphrates, but Tom corrected me on this and noted he was actually part of the government. This is why you talk to experts in their field.

We go into the role of socialism in Baathist ideology, how that was operationalized in Syria, and the supposed economic opening under the younger Assad. Tom lists four possibilities for a new Syria, from worse to better: ISIS, the Taliban, Iran, and Turkey.

Near the end we talk about the issue of Syrian refugees in Germany. Tom’s father is Syrian and his mother is German, and he teaches aspiring police candidates in Hassia, so he brings a unique perspective to this issue. There’s also some talk on German culture, which from what I’ve heard I’ve always found disturbingly weird.

Links

Me, Uncle Sam as the Hegelian Hammer in Syria

Me on Assad’s last days

Tom on October 7 from a comparative perspective (only published work in English)

Economic growth in rebel held areas versus those of the regime

The historic overrepresentation of Alawites in the top echelons of the Syrian military