Manifesto for a Democratic Civilization : Civilization: The Age of Masked Gods and Disguised Kings

Considering the circumstances under which the book was written, I’d say the achievement here is quite impressive. Abdullah Öcalan seems to have done a better job writing with the extremely limited resources allowed him by his jailers than authors like Francis Fukuyama or Jared Diamond did with access to the world’s finest research libraries.

—David Graeber

A criticism that limits itself to capitalism is too superficial, Öcalan argues, and turns his eyes to the underlying structures of civilization. Rethinking the methods of understanding culture, politics, and society, he provides the tools for what he calls a sociology of freedom.

Civilization: The Age of Masked Gods and Disguised Kings is the first book in a new five-volume work called Manifesto for a Democratic Civilization.

In this work, Abdullah Öcalan distills 35 years of revolutionary theory and praxis and 10 years of solitary confinement in Turkish prisons. These reflections represent the essence of his ideas on society, knowledge, and power.

Abdullah Öcalan (1948-) co-founded the militant Kurdish movement PKK in 1978. Öcalan was abducted in 1999 and is still imprisoned on the island of İmralı. While in prison, Öcalan has initiated a bold peace process with Turkey, and explored alternatives to a Kurdish nation-state. Öcalan "is still regarded as the undisputed leader by a majority of the Kurdish people."

Havin Guneser is an engineer, journalist, and women's rights activist. She is a spokesperson for the International Initiative "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan-Peace in Kurdistan."

David Graeber is an anthropologist and activist. He is professor of anthropology at the London School of Economics and has been active in numerous direct action groups. One of his best known books is "Debt: The First 5000 Years" (2011).