ABSTRACT
This chapter classifies the Syrian Left in terms of its positions regarding the Uprising and discusses the development of political blocs throughout the Syrian conflict. It addresses the predicament of the Syrian Left through a trilemma of regime change, internationalisation and militarisation and explains how each political bloc resolved this trilemma. One main impact of the Syrian Uprising was that the de facto marginalisation of the Ba'th Party within the ruling institutions of the regime was complemented by a de jure corrosion of its constitutional status with the abolishment of Article 8 in the new constitution of February 2012. The National Committee for the Unity of the Syrian Communists (NCUSC) originates from debates and power struggles taking place in the early 2000s within the official Syrian Communist Party. Finally, the chapter argues that the Uprising contributed to the transformation of these blocs to better fit the current political situation.
