To the victor goes the spoils. More than a half century of brutal autocratic rule has ended in Syria with the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s military, the desertion of his Russian and Iranian allies, and Assad’s flight to Moscow. Such an outcome was unthinkable under the rule of his father, but Assad the son lacked the instincts of Assad the father.

Both were brutal, both corrupt. But Hafez had a better sense of give and take, of when to assert and when to compromise. Bashar arguably had a more challenging geopolitical environment to deal with – but he failed to navigate it and was swept away.