From the early inception of the Baath party as a secular Pan-Arab nationalist political party until the time it came to power in 1963, the party ideology was based on monopolizing political power, which the party accomplished through engineering changes in the structure of Syrian society. After the Baath effectively seized power, the Syrian middle class were either crushed by newly imposed laws intended to suffocate them, (ultimately forcing them to move to a lower class), while others chose to flee the county seeking opportunities for an economic fresh start in friendlier business environments.

These newly created arrangements in the social and economic structure at the core of Syrian society manifested in the rise of a new political and power hungry �??elite�?� political class, unwilling to share the power with other political and social forces within the specter of Syrian society. Specifically, the ascension of the Assad family to the helm has indeed transformed the country�??s political system into a cult of “absolute power”, which has led the new ruling elites to put their own political, social, and economic self-interests above all else.

To loosen this outdated political structure without instigating any unnecessary damages, the Syrian regime should be considering some of the recommended steps below:

1. Draft new multi-party laws and embrace Syrians�?? democratic aspiration to the election of representatives, allowing opposition groups to form parties and participate in a program of transition to a democratic and free society. This will allow a peaceful reduced Baath party dominant role of the political system, and its imposed role as the leader of Syrian society.
2. Facilitate a free and fair elections process, taking into account the open and transparent competition among election candidates and ensuring the highest ethical and moral standard of electoral conduct.
3. Grant the freely-elected parliament most of the legislative power to effectively serve the interests of the citizens of Syria only.
4. Amend the current constitution to explicitly set a limited term for the presidency.
5. Remove any elements opposing the needs for institutional reform and draft laws to protect the civil and political rights of the diverse Syrian minorities and ensure they are fully represented in a national government.
6. Abolish Decree #51 pertaining to a �??state of emergency” �?? its implementation has led to mistakes that even Dr. Assad himself has admitted.
7. Establish an independent justice system to fight corruption and enforce transparency in public entities. Reinforce the independence of the judiciary system from the power of the executive branch and the security branches.
8. Protect and govern a free media, which will operate in complete independence and allow all political parties access to the media to engage objectively in a free debate without abusing the system.
9. Study and analyze the impact of economic reforms on Syrian society, with particular focus on the poor and vulnerable. Recommendations of experts should be shared with international organizations like the World Bank, which can act as a supporting factor in the reform plan by providing a monetary cushion in the events of any unanticipated financial crises due to the newly adapted reforms.