Bashar al-Assad is hollowing out Syria’s ravaged state

Arab dictators in military attire laden with medals or clad in swirling tribal robes. Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s president, is the picture of modesty. Usually he wears no jewellery, no wedding ring nor even a glittering watch. His preferred garb is a plain black suit and tie. His speeches are a cure for insomnia. Yet in a region of kleptocratic rulers, few have plundered their country so completely.Life for his people should have improved after the defeat of Islamic State in 2019 and the regime’s recapture of large chunks of rebel-held territory. Instead it is worse. Electricity is more often off than on. The population of the areas under the regime’s control has halved since the start of the rebellion in 2011; 90% of them live in poverty, many surviving on foreign aid and remittances. The currency has lost 90% of its value. Officials blame Western sanctions, covid-19, the collapse of banks nextdoor in Lebanon and, most recently, the war in Ukraine, a big source of wheat. But a prime cause is Mr Assad’s cannibalising of his country. “He rules like a Mafia boss,” says a confidant who recently defected.