Chapter 3 discusses the phase spanning from the 2000s until the start of the Arab Spring in 2011–2012. It pays particular attention to how activists and communities have come together in pursuit of shared liberal notions and goals, and how they have taken tangible political action and impacted political conduct and affairs. To do so intellectuals and activists moved beyond dogmatic and rigid interpretations in their attempts to re-appropriate, make sense of, and reclaim liberal values. They reintegrated the public masses who became the main focus of activism. And they created public forums, took to the streets, and engaged in open debates about separation of powers, pluralism, and individuality, stressing issues of civil rights and political freedoms and individuals’ right to self-rule. Even leftist thinkers who lost faith in the contentions of the radical era turned to a “liberal-ish” agenda that emphasized liberal rights and freedoms and criticized state monopolies over power and the economy.

A personal note, written by a Syrian human rights activist and political dissident. Dr Allabwani became an opponent of the Baathist rule in 1981 (during Hafez al-Assad’s Presidency), having witnessed the Hama massacre during his compulsory military service as a medical doctor. In 2000, when Bashar al-Assad became president, Dr. Allabwani took part in meetings of activists who called for political reforms and the strengthening of civil society and institutions, later known as the ’Damascus Spring’. Dr Allabwani was arrested for his involvement and was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, where he was held in solitary confinement. In this epilogue, Allabwani describes his perspective of the Syrian conflict and his vision for Syria – for the state he hopes one day his country will become but which, at this juncture, seems as remote as ever.