Kelman Seminar: The Challenge of Syria: Moving toward Dignity
The Herbert C. Kelman Seminar on International Conflict Analysis and Resolution presents:
The Challenge of Syria: Moving toward Dignity
A virtual talk with:
David Lesch
Ewing Halsell Distinguished Professor of History
Trinity University
Thursday, September 25, 2025
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ET (US and Canada)
Free and open to the public.
About the Talk:
Syria was already in a dilapidated condition even before former President Bashar al-Assad fell from power in late 2024. It was a country reeling from over a decade of brutal civil war, withering international sanctions, and socio-economic despair. New President Ahmad al-Sharaa and his HTS-led government offers a kernel of hope for the future, but the challenges facing him are enormous. How can the new government establish external and internal legitimacy? How can Syria reconstruct itself both physically and mentally and move beyond the circumstances resulting from civil war? Dr. David Lesch will outline the transition to the post-Assad period and offer some ideas for moving forward in Syria.
About the Speaker:
David Lesch is the Ewing Halsell Distinguished Professor of History in the Department of History at Trinity University. He received his PhD in Middle East History from Harvard University.
He is the author or editor of 18 books on a variety of Middle East topics and has over 140 publications overall.
Dr. Lesch has advised the White House, State Department and other government entities in the last five US presidential administrations. He has consistently met with and advised high level officials in Europe, the Middle East, and the United Nations on diplomatic issues. He has appeared frequently on national and international television and radio news programs, and he is in over fifteen documentaries. He is also on the board of a number of organizations dealing with the Middle East, international affairs, or local politics and businesses. Dr. Lesch met with former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on a regular basis between 2004 and 2009, in part as an attempt to develop US-Syrian relations.
In addition, Dr. Lesch was the #1 draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1980 baseball draft as a pitcher and played in the minor leagues before a rotator cuff injury ended his career.
A biography has been written about Dr. Lesch’s life by the accomplished biographer, Catherine Nixon Cooke, entitled, Dodgers to Damascus: David Lesch’s Journey from Baseball to the Middle East. The book was just released by Trinity University Press in August 2025.
Accommodation Statement:
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