Revolution in Rojava : Democratic Autonomy and Women's Liberation in Syrian Kurdistan

Michael Knapp

ISBN 10: 0745336590 / ISBN 13: 9780745336596

Published by Pluto Press Okt 2016, 2016

About this Item

Neuware - A new kind of society is being built in Syria, but it's not one you would expect. Surrounded by deadly bands of ISIS and hostile Turkish forces, the people living in Syria's Rojava cantons are carving out one of the most radically progressive societies on the planet today. Western visitors have been astounded by the success of their project, a communally organised democracy which considers women's equality indispensable and rejects reactionary nationalist ideology whilst being fiercely anti-capitalist. The people of Rojava call their new system democratic confederalism. An implementation of the recent ideology of the imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan, it boasts gender quotas of 40 percent, bottom-up democratic structures, deep-reaching ecological policies and a militancy which is keeping ISIS from the gates. Revolution in Rojava is the first full-length study of this ongoing social and political transformation in Syrian Kurdistan. Its authors use their own experiences of working and fighting in the region to construct a picture of hope for Middle-Eastern politics and society, and reveal an extraordinary story of a battle against the odds.

Seller Inventory # 9780745336596

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Revolution in Rojava : Democratic Autonomy and Women's Liberation in Syrian Kurdistan
• Publisher: Pluto Press Okt 2016
• Publication Date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0745336590
• ISBN 13: 9780745336596
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu

About this title

Synopsis

“Their first-hand experiences and active participation in the anti-capitalist society being built in the region make this the first detailed account of the popular revolution....The definitive book so far on Rojava."―Morning Star

Revolution in Rojava tells the story of Rojava's groundbreaking experiment in what they call democratic confederalism, a communally organized democracy that is fiercely anti-capitalist and committed to female equality, while rejecting reactionary nationalist ideologies.

Rooted in the ideas of imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan, the system is built on effective gender quotas, bottom-up democratic structures, far-sighted ecological policies, and a powerful militancy that has allowed the region to keep ISIS at bay.

Given the widespread violence and suffering in Syria, it's not unreasonable that outsiders look at the situation as unrelentingly awful. And while the reality of the devastation is undeniable, there is reason for hope in at least one small pocket of the nation: the cantons of Rojava in Syrian Kurdistan, where in the wake of war people are quietly building one of the most progressive societies in the world today. Chapters here include:

*Rojava's Diverse Cultures
*Democratic Confederalism
*The Liberation
*A Women's Revolution
*Democratic Autonomy in Rojava
*Civil Society Associations
*The Theory of the Rose: Defense
*The New Justice System
*Democratization of Education
*Health Care
*The Social Economy
*Ecological Challenges

This first full-length study of democratic developments in Rojava tells an extraordinary and powerfully hopeful story of a little-known battle for true freedom in dark times. With excellent first-hand background information about this important, but little understood struggle, Revolution in Rojava will educate and inspire the reader to learn more about Rojava, Syria, and the fight for change in one of the world's most dangerous regions.

About the Author

Michael Knapp is a historian of radical democracy, Ercan Ayboga is an environmental engineer and activist, and Anja Flach is an enthologist and member of the Rojbîn women's council in Hamburg. Janet Biehl is a writer, editor, and translator. She was Murray Bookchin's copyeditor for the last two decades of Bookchin's professional life, and has published several books, including Ecology or Catastrophe: The Life of Murray Bookchin.