The Revolution in Rojava:Strengths and Challenges

Dr. Thomas Jeffrey MileyLecturer of Political SociologyThe University of Cambridge

International Borders in 1914

A Region of Contested Borders

A Syrian “Political Map”

A Linguistic Map of Kurdistan

Kurdistan According to Google Maps

The Region of Rojava

The Situation in RojavaSept. 2014

Press Coverage of the Fight for Kobani

Basic Chronology of Events in Rojava• 11 March 2004 – Qamishlo massacre

• 19 July 2012 – “Beginning of Rojava Revolution.”Assad regime forces withdraw from Rojava andKurdish forces seize control over the areas, city bycity. The first city to declare freedom was Kobani.

• November 2013 – Rojava announces autonomy.

• January 2014 – Geneva II conference for theresolution of the Syrian conflict. The KurdishDemocratic Union Party requested a delegation tothe conference, but was excluded. Declare threeautonomous cantons the same day: Cizire (east),Kobane (center), Afrin (west).

http://links.org.au/node/4129

http://mylittletripod.deviantart.com/art/Rojava-The-Unsung-Social-Revolution-488875745

A Revolution in Rojava• “We have created, in the middle of the civil war in Syria,

three independent cantons in the Rojava region thatfunction by democratic, autonomous rule.

• “Together with the ethnic and religious minorities of theregion – Arabs, Turkmen, Assyrians, Armenians, Christians,Kurds – we have written a collective political structure forthese autonomous cantons: our social contract.

• “We have established a people’s council including 101representatives from all cooperatives, committees andassembly’s running each of our cantons.

• “And we established a model of co-presidency – eachpolitical entity always has both a female and a malepresident – and a quota of 40% gender representation inorder to enforce gender equality throughout all forms ofpublic life and political representation.

Strengths of the Revolution

• Discipline, revolutionary commitment, collective mobilisation andpoliticization

• Admirable ideological programme and genuine steps towardscollective emancipation through education

• Gender emancipation

• Attempts to accommodate ethnic and religious diversity

Challenges and Vulnerabilities of the Revolution

• Integration of the local Arab population

• Coordination and alliances with groups outside of the three cantons

• Avoiding nationalist excesses and exclusion of minorities in the educational system

• Overcoming nationalist imaginaries among revolutionary cadres

• Navigating tensions between charismatic leadership and the will of the people

• Avoiding playing into the divide and conquer tactics of the imperialist powers

Strengths of the Revolution:Revolutionary Discipline, Politicization, and Collective Mobilization

• “Everyone knows how capitalist democracy plays for thevotes; it is a play of elections. In many places parliamentaryelections are just about propaganda, only addressing thedirect self-interest of a voter.

• “Democratic autonomy is about the long term. It is aboutpeople understanding and exercising their rights. To getsociety to become politicized: that is the core of buildingdemocratic autonomy.

• “In Europe you will find a society that is not politicized.Political parties are only about persuasion and individualbenefits, not about actual emancipation and politicization.

• “Real democracy is based on a politicized society. If you nowgo to Kobanê and you meet the fighters of the YPG and theYPJ you will find that they know exactly why they arefighting and what they are fighting for. They are not therefor money or interests. They are there for elementaryvalues, which they practice at the same time. There is nodifference between what they do and what theyrepresent.”

“Radical Democracy” and Revolutionary Self-Defense in Rojava

• “[We are engaged in the construction of]radical democracy: to mobilize people toorganize themselves and to defendthemselves by means of peoples armies likethe Peoples Defense Unit (YPG) and Women’sDefense Unit (YPJ). We are practicing thismodel of self-rule and self-organizationwithout the state as we speak.

• Other people will speak of self-rule in theory,but for us, this search for self-rule is our dailyrevolution. Women, man, all strands of oursociety are now organized. The reason whyKobanê still stands is because we have builtthese structures” – Saleh Muslim.

“Democratic Confederalism” and the “Democratic Nation”

• “We demand a democratic nation. We are not opposed to the unitary state andrepublic. We accept the republic, its unitary structure and laicism.

• However, we believe that it must be redefined as a democratic state respecting peoples,cultures and rights.

• On this basis, the Kurds must be free to organize in a way that they can live their cultureand language and can develop economically and ecologically.

• This would allow Kurds, Turks and other cultures to come together under the roof of ademocratic nation in Turkey.

• This is only possible, though, with a democratic constitution and an advanced legalframework warranting respect for different cultures.

• Our idea of a democratic nation is not defined by flags and borders. Our idea of ademocratic nation embraces a model based on democracy instead of a model based onstate structures and ethnic origins.

• Turkey needs to define itself as a country which includes all ethnic groups. This wouldbe a model based on human rights instead of religion or race. Our idea of a democraticnation embraces all ethnic groups and cultures (War and Peace in Kurdistan, pp. 39-40).

“Democratic Confederalism” for the Middle East

• “[T]his model is suitable for the building of federal administrativestructures in all Kurdish settlement areas in Syria, Turkey, Iraq,and Iran. Thus, it is possible to build confederate structuresacross all parts of Kurdistan without the need to questionexisting orders” (War and Peace in Kurdistan, p. 33).

• “The citizens must be invited to actively commit themselves fordemocracy. For the Kurds, this means building democraticstructures in all parts of Kurdistan and wherever there areKurdish communities, which advance the active participation inthe political life of the community. The minorities living inKurdistan must be invited to participate as well” (p. 34).

• “The right to native language education must be warranted” (p.34).

• “The solution of the Kurdish question will be realized within theframework of the democratization of the countries exercisinghegemonic power over the different parts of Kurdistan. Thisprocess is not limited to these countries, though, but ratherextends across the entire Middle East. The freedom of Kurdistanis tied to the democratization of the Middle East (p. 35).

SummaryStrengths•Discipline, revolutionary commitment, collective mobilisation and politicization•Admirable ideological programme and genuine steps towards collective emancipation through education•Gender emancipation•Attempts to accommodate ethnic and religious diversity

Challenges•Integration of the local Arab population•Coordination and alliances with groups outside of the three cantons•Avoiding nationalist excesses and exclusion of minorities in the educational system•Overcoming nationalist imaginaries among revolutionary cadres•Navigating tensions between the cult of the leader and the will of the people•Avoiding playing into the divide and conquer tactics of the imperialist powers

Recommendations•More inclusive non-Kurdish revolutionary symbols and imagery•Engage in dialogue with groups in Syria and more globally who are sympathetic to anti-imperialist ideology•Denounce in international forums Saudi funding of IS, CIA training of IS operatives, and NATO complicitywith IS attacks (the Turkish state in particular)•Engage with the Turkish left to fight the embargo•Focus on preventative public health campaigns•Set up systems to monitor and evaluate the health needs of the population•Seek assistance of international institutes focusing on models of sustainable development