After eight years of civil war in Syria, with hundreds of thousands of its citizens dead and millions more fleeing the country, one question looms large: how did things get so bad? During those early days of peaceful protest, what prompted a shoot-to-kill order from the highest levels of government? The answer begins with the rise to power of the Assad family.

Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.