4/ With variations across the two sectors, we find that: (A) Transparency has increased in visibility, but it has yet to reach core decision-making processes. The processes and reasoning behind policy formulation remain largely opaque to the general public (B) Public participation is limited and operates more as a signal of openness than as a genuine channel for citizens to influence policy. (C) Accountability mechanisms represent a formal break from the previous regime’s practices, yet they remain largely symbolic in the security sector and are applied selectively in the economic sphere. (D) Public participation follows a similar pattern. Consultative forums, meetings, and invitations to dialogue are positive developments, but they often function more as signals of openness than as genuine channels for influencing policy or institutional behaviour.

2/ We find that recent anti-corruption measures initiated by the transitional government mark a departure from former regime practices, but progress remains limited by 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀 and 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀.

3/ The process will involve a representative from the Ministry of Defence, signalling HTS’s intent to co-opt, rather than confront, pre-existing civilian and military structures in #Daraa.

4/ For many local stakeholders, unless HTS recognises Daraa’s unique postwar trajectory and adjusts its strategy to engage with the region’s distinctive dynamics and power structures, the likelihood of escalating tensions in southern Syria will continue to rise.