Rojava is an area in the north of Syria. Predominantly Kurdish the area has broken away from Bashar Al Assad Syrian government and has undertaken a revolution and democratic experiment, they have gained some mainstream media attention for being one of the only effective forces combating ISIS, however, analysis rarely goes that deep so many people will think they are just another faction in the fractured Syrian conflict.
The modern history of Rojava can be traced back to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, after which the European powers moved into the area, especially France which had control of Syria. The colonial governments and brutal dictators who were backed by the west dominated the middle east region. After world war two the bankrupted European colonials withdrew from the middle east, leaving behind a wave of Arab nationalism which grew in influence after the Arabs defeat at the hands of the newly formed state of Israel. Coups in the Arab nations were to follow and anti-imperialist, anti-zionist nationalist leaders would rise however they, in turn, would be replaced after stepping on the toes of western business interests in the oil sector and others, by increasingly authoritarian repressive regimes who were often susceptible to the influence of the old colonial powers and the USA. The redrawing of the borders by the colonialists and authoritarian regimes led to the Kurds being split between, turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria, ethnic repression would follow leading to Kurdish resistance and their desire for an independent Kurdish state which led to further often violent repression. Kurdish organisations would ping-pong between Soviet and US support during the cold war and after, leading to their support of the US invasion of Iraq. After the Iraq war, they allowed the Kurds to set up a somewhat autonomous region in northern Iraq while religiose and proxy warfare which was enabled by the West's support for such fundamentalist forces during the cold war consumed the rest of the middle east. It threw Syria into a civil war in which the northeast, Kurdish region, was mostly left to fend for itself, caught between Islamist extremists, Syrian government forces the Turkish Army and the KRG of Northern Iraq.
This power vacuum allowed a coalition of left-wing groups to come together in Rojava under, The Movement for a Democratic society, or TEV-DEM, which is defended by the YPG militias and proceeded to implement a progressive administration based on the PKK head Abdullah Ocalan's theories of democratic confederalism. Turkey would blockade Rojava and allow ISIS Islamists to travel through its borders to attack the fledgeling society while its troops watched from vantage points across the border. Due to its status as NATO's second largest army in a strategically important position Turkeys ambition to install an Islamist state it could control in Syria while further repressing the Kurds, could have come to pass with no reporting from mainstream media outlets, however the effective resistance to ISIS by the YPG and YPJ militias was focused on by these media outlets who found the women's militias of the YPJ especially fascinating. The YPG and YPJ militias were resisting Islamist forces, saving civilian populations from all ethnic and religious backgrounds, but the media did little to shed a light on why they were so effective where other groups supported by the west were not, the ideology of the PKK gave them the inspiration to fight and die for a more equal society in a region dominated by hatred and repression.
The PKK use direct democracy and the autonomy it provides to prevent one sector of the society from repressing another. This includes the domination of those with the means of production, so it encourages cooperative organisation along with democratic control of communal resources. Women have an equal standing in the society alongside men and must not be second-class citizens as they have commonly been reduced to by the dominant ideologies of the region. They allow freedom of religion and culture and dogma from religiose establishments is not. It also recognises we live in a finite world and must consider the environment in decision making.
Despite the opposition from ISIS, the free Syrian army, Turkey, Assad, Al-nusra and the nationalist Northern Iraq Kurdish administration of the KRG the autonomous cantons of Rojava have pursued a policy of a democratic and federal Syria with rights for all ethnic and religious minorities, avoiding new conflicts and protecting human rights, creating a relatively stable and peaceful society in the Cantons of Rojava, at least until further assaults by its many opponents.
This has allowed local councils, self-defence committees, Kurdish language schools, the equal distribution of bread and fuel, women's participation in society, community police, freedom of religion and no religion as well as courts to be established.
Women have been able to assemble and teach each other about their rights as equal citizens, it encourages them to take their place in society alongside and equal to the men. They fight for Rojava in the YPJ militias and women's groups have made sure that the PYD sees women's issues as a high priority leading to the aim of gender balance in functions of the society. This is slowly breaking down the repression of thousands of years of religiously justified repression of women in the region.
By not allowing religious dogma to infect Rojava previously unconvinced communities such as the Christians and other Muslim denominations have joined the democratic system in Rojava. Implementing a cooperative democratic system has shown all people they can coexist in peace together where they face repression in much of the surrounding country. However, these repressive forces remain a great threat to Rojava and its autonomous democracy. To try and ensure this cooperation continues the PYD has said it will implement a constitution known as the "Social contract", created with different members of ethnic and belief groups. This commits to a democratic self-government, open to all and only using military forces for defence, with a recognition that the revolution will take time to build and defend, the revolution should build from the bottom of society while accepting open forums compatible with pluralism and democracy, not accepting state nationalism, or forms of centralised management and rule, a separation of church and state was also a commitment and a recognition of children and women's rights, all languages would be recognised and prisons are to be a place of dignity rehabilitation and reform, rights of refugees are also recognised. This commitment has lead to the refusal to join outside backed political bodies that aim to represent a government outside Syria as they are made up predominantly of the old vested power structures, who are unlikely to offer a solution that can be sustainable for life in the region as the experiment in Rojava is proving it could be.
The new system in Rojava has seen the setup of, village or street communes made up of neighbourhoods of around 300 people, which localise decision making and help people realise they can rule themselves. They have the power to decide on electricity and food administration and discuss and implement solutions to social issues. They support the poor with food and fuel, Communal cooperatives have been set up and commissions for organising defence, justice, infrastructure, ecology, youth and economy. They meet every week and gather opinions and find out issues affecting the local population and report back in the next weeks meeting where solutions and ongoing activities can be reviewed and discussed. the communes pass their orders upwards to councils and then up to the canton level.
Local committees deal with legal questions and disputes apart from severe crimes such as murder. they aim to achieve a consensus between the two parties, 5-9 members of the commune are elected to the committees based on their ability to reach a consensus between two parties, women only committees deal with cases such as domestic abuse, forced marriage and multiple marriages. If consensus cannot be reached at a local level, then the case is sent up to higher institutions at the city, regional and canton level. Other committees exist and have a role in decision making these include health and women's committees. These committees exist at all levels to keep a link with local decisions all the way up the chain.
These communes then send delegates to a larger council that represents 7-10 villages or a city district. These councils are not only made up of the commune representatives but also all political parties, and various organisations with a quota to be made up of at least 45% women. Chair positions are held jointly between a man and woman and decisions must be made by consensus. The local population decides on the candidates and elects them.
A democratic self-administration or DSA has been set up in the cantons, or counties of Rojava, these include Cizire, Kobani and Efrin. the DSA implements the decisions made by the TEV-DEM committee and also runs some administration work in local authorities, municipalities, education and judiciary systems, among others. The DSA is made up of men and women as well as different backgrounds, nationalities and ethnicities. At the moment the three cantons are administered separately with the goal of unifying the three under a democratic confederal model.
Opposition parties are free to exist within Rojava however to prevent violent infighting they may not establish their own militias. All militias they form must be under the ultimate control of the YPG/YPJ. The main threat internally is the KDP backed nationalist Kurdish movement, the KRG being in control of northern Iraq who have a nationalist-capitalist ideology and have built a trench along the border in Rojava to implement a blockade. This has resulted in shortages of essential supplies and sources have said they believe this is allowed to happen as the Rojava revolution has shown that people can rule themselves and don't need the support of the west and its global financial interests.
However, due to these external challenges and the ongoing war in Syria it has been estimated that around seventy per cent of Rojava's resources goes towards the war effort, however basic needs of the population are still being met. This has led to a policy of economic self-sufficiency with cooperatives being set up in all sectors to achieve this goal while making sure any development takes the environment into account to make progress sustainable. They have established a newspaper and television station. New factories and refineries have been set up with some being restricted due to their effect on the environment. Workers have formed unions in most sectors. The population has risen given the relative peace and the inclusiveness of the system in Rojava. They say the job market to be healthy with Jobs available to all. Charging interest on loans has been made illegal along with finance capital. Taxation is planned to take place transparently and with monies collected being distributed to ministries depending on their need. A hospital has been established paid for by those with the means to pay but free to use for all others. Schools have been set up in every village providing free education for all. They keep prices low, all of this is going towards setting up an economy built on communes and co-operatives.
The schools operate in an alternative education model. This has resulted in a collaborative form of learning with students teaching and learning from one another in intellectual matters while being taught useful and practical information from their teachers, students are encouraged to think for themselves and empowered so they may contribute to the community. Students also have youth councils where they can decide on projects and the building and modification of recreational sites.
Policing is provided by the Asayish, the police Bureaus are decentralised and the responsibility of each canton. Members are from all backgrounds and paid a monthly salary. Asayis are elected directly by the community; the Asayis leadership is then decided by further elections. The goal is to provide most citizens with police training so that the community takes responsibility for its own security instead of relying on permanent employees.
Rojava offers a genuine alternative to the repressive systems around them. This is especially incredible given the location of Rojava surrounded by corrupt, authoritarian, fundamentalist and nationalist regimes, and is, therefore, a beacon of hope in the darkness that is worth our support and bringing to the attention of others. However support should never be unconditional we must criticise the project when we feel it has gone astray, being non-critical and giving blind support helps no one, but we must remember the circumstances of the revolution in Rojava a poor war-torn area which was kept so by decades of repressive regimes. So we must support this extraordinary revolution but never be afraid to criticise it always remembering that nothing in practice, and especially in this area of the world, will be perfect first time. We can also take lessons and inspiration from this, Oclans "Democratic confederalism" and the attempted implementation in Rojava is providing us with an up-to-date example of how real direct democratic societies can be organised, developed and made successful in the real world in some of the most challenging conditions. How long this can last though is a worry, with the Turks now invading and the president of Turkey recently taking so much personal power after the last election he is like a new sultan bent on destroying Rojava and dominating Syria for his own ends. I believe Rojava deserves our solidarity.
Sources:
http://www.movements.manchester.ac.uk/the-alternative-in-syria/
http://www.freeocalan.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Ocalan-Democratic-Confederalism.pdf
http://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/Autonomy_Region_Rojava
https://peaceinkurdistancampaign.com/resources/rojava/the-project-of-a-democratic-syria/
https://peaceinkurdistancampaign.com/resources/abdullah-ocalan/
https://www.opendemocracy.net/north-africa-west-asia/evangelos-aretaios/rojava-revolution
