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Prospects for Kurdish ecology initiatives in Syria and Turkey: Democratic confederalism and social ecology

Hunt, Stephen E.

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Abstract

This paper surveys the nascent experiments in political ecology underway in predominantly Kurdish areas of south-eastern Turkey, known as Bakûr, and Rojava (northern Syria). The Kurdish freedom movement is attempting to consolidate a social revolution with ecology at its heart in a most unpromising context, given its ongoing struggle against Islamic State and regional embargoes. This greening of its ideology can be significantly attributed to the influence of American social ecologist Murray Bookchin, an inspiration for Kurdish attempts to implement democratic confederalism, which comprises principles of direct democracy, gender equality and ecological well-being in a needs-based economy. The Mesopotamian Ecology Movement has emerged from activist campaigns opposing dam construction, climate change and deforestation in the region, to inform ecology councils tasked with formulating policies that reflect this philosophical paradigm shift. The essay considers the prospects for the ecological initiatives in Turkish and Syrian Kurdistan. It argues that, confronted by formidable challenges, expansion of the democratic confederal model beyond the heartlands of Bakûr and Rojava, and international solidarity, are preconditions for their endurance.

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 3, 2017
Online Publication Date Dec 14, 2017
Publication Date Jul 1, 2019
Publicly Available Date Jun 15, 2019
Journal Capitalism Nature Socialism
Print ISSN 1045-5752
Electronic ISSN 1548-3290
Publisher Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 30
Issue 3
Pages 7-26
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/10455752.2017.1413120
Keywords ecology, green issues, Middle East, Turkey, Syria, Kurdistan, Kurdish freedom movement, Rojava, democratic federation of Northern Syria, Abdullah Ocalan, Murray Bookchin, dams, oil industry, deforestation
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/902240
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1080/10455752.2017.1413120
Additional Information Additional Information : This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Capitalism Nature Socialism on 14th December 2017, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/10455752.2017.1413120.

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Copyright Statement
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Capitalism Nature Socialism on 14 December 2017, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/10455752.2017.1413120. It is deposited under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


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Licence
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

Publisher Licence URL
http://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved

Copyright Statement
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Capitalism Nature Socialism on 14 December 2017, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/10455752.2017.1413120. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Capitalism Nature Socialism on 14 December 2017, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/10455752.2017.1413120. It is deposited under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.





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