Hidden Cities

Hidden Cities

Who Will Rebuild Syria?

My appearance on Order From Ashes, Century International's podcast.

Frederick Deknatel's avatar
Frederick Deknatel
Feb 06, 2026
∙ Paid

I was recently a guest on Order From Ashes, the podcast from Century International, where I’m a non-resident fellow. I spoke with Thanassis Cambanis, the director of Century International, about my recent essay on why reconstruction in Syria risks cutting out the Syrian people and leading to a new era of cronyism and authoritarianism in Damascus under Ahmed al-Sharaa. We also discussed recent events in Syria following the sudden collapse of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and its semi-autonomous statelet in northeast Syria, as Sharaa’s government consolidates its authority across the country, now with the backing of the United States under Donald Trump.

Listen below, or on Apple, Podbean, and Spotify.

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