Since March 2011, Syria has been marred by an internal conflict that has drawn everybody's attention. While the majority of the media has focused on the military and jihadists components in the uprising, there has been little research on its civil aspects, even though it was the key factor in starting the revolutionary process. Attempting to fill this void, the goal for this working paper is twofold: first, recounting the development of a bona fide although fragile civil society in Syria in the years 2000, following decades of lethargy; second, to show that this civil society still exists today, albeit amended, due to a spreading conflict. Our reflection--in an effort to present both elements of continuity and rupture, underlining the dynamics at work during each pe- riod--relies on groundwork undertaken between 2007 and 2010 as well as fif- teen or so interviews with Syrian activists dated January 2013.
