Golan Heights: The Pinnacle of Syrian Nation-Building

After years of bloody conflict, Syria's quest for peace is sure to be neither quick nor smooth. At some point, the government will have to begin rebuilding the country from the shambles that protracted civil war have left. But forging a bond between ruling officials and rebels will be a difficult task, and Syria's leaders will have to rely on any semblance of commonality among the country's disparate factions to pull them back together. Like so many post-conflict countries before it, Syria may turn to the tried-and-true method of uniting its people by galvanizing citizens around a popular national cause. For Damascus, the Golan Heights offers just such a rallying point....