The recent political reversal in Bolivia raises the question of whether the advances of nearly 20 years of rule by the indigenist left will survive—including a constitution that refounded the state as a "plurinational" republic. In Episode 299 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg explores how the lessons of the Bolivian experience can be applied to Syria, where the new revolutionary government faces a challenge in Kurdish and Druze demands for regional autonomy.

The UN Syria Commission of Inquiry on Aug. 14 reported that the wave of violent attacks that engulfed coastal and western central Syria in March may constitute war crimes, and urged accountability to restore public confidence in the authorities.

Amnesty International on July 28 called on Syria to investigate abductions of Alawite women and girls, and bring perpetrators to justice.

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International's secretary general, said that the Syrian authorities must "act swiftly and transparently in locating missing women and girls, bringing perpetrators to justice, and providing affected families with timely, gender-sensitive and credible information and support."

The investigation by the Syrian transition government into the March violence against the Alawites in Latakia province has been submitted—but the full findings have not been made public, and it apparently exonerates the government of involvement. Meanwhile southern Suwayda province has seen a perhaps even deadlier eruption of violence—this time pitting Druze against Bedouin, with the role of the government similarly the source of much contestation (and fodder for Internet partisans). And a Damascus protest against the violence and for co-existence was attacked by goons. Amid all this, Israel is militarily intervening, the government looks to Turkey for military aid, and both the US and Russia still have forces on the ground—treating the country as a Great Power chessboard. In Episode 288 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg argues that the Syrian Revolution is poised on a razor's edge, ready to descend into ethno-sectarian war and authoritarianism unless political space can be kept open for the secular-democratic civil resistance that began the revolution 14 years ago.

On July 9, Amnesty International urged Syria's transitional president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, to ensure the publication of all the findings of a fact-finding committee's investigation into the targeted killings of members of Syria's Alawite minority.

Amnesty's deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Kirstine Beckerle, said: "Survivors and the families of victims have the right to know what happened, who was responsible, and what concrete steps the authorities will take to deliver justice. Only independent and impartial investigations can lead to credible and fair trials." Amnesty also urged the Syrian government to ensure that effective reparations are provided for the affected families.

Nearly 40,000 people have fled Syria's sectarian violence for neighboring Lebanon over the past three months. With many fearful of returning anytime soon, their arrival adds a new layer to Lebanon's protracted humanitarian crisis at a moment when aid groups are badly underfunded and overstretched.

The UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, warned April 25 of grave consequences for the country's future without genuine political inclusion and urgent economic support for a successful political transition. During a briefing to the Security Council, Pedersen noted the legacies of misrule, conflict and exclusion in Syria, stating:

This means that the situation is inherently still extremely fragile. The vital ingredients to address this fragility are clear: we need genuine political inclusion so that all Syrians can participate meaningfully in shaping their country's political future, along with countering extremism and terrorism; and real support from the international community to give this transition a chance to succeed against great odds.

In Episode 268 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg examines the continued fighting in Syria since the fall of the Bashar Assad dictatorship in December. The recent outburst of violence in the Alawite heartland on the Mediterranean coast made headlines, but this week also saw anti-regime protests by Druze in Syria's south. And fighting has never stopped between forces aligned with the new transition government and those of the Kurdish autonomous zone in the northeast. The situation is complicated by continuing military adventures on Syrian territory by foreign powers—Israel, Turkey, Russia and the US. Will Syrians be able to overcome these challenges and forge a democratic and multicultural order, in repudiation of sectarianism, ethno-nationalism and Great Power intrigues?