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

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

Revolution in Rojava : Democratic Autonomy and Women's Liberation in Syrian Kurdistan
ISBN: 9780745336596
Publication Date: 20 October 2016

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 Ro...