Since 2012, there has been a democratic self-government in northeastern Syria organized according to the principles of democratic confederalism. The social system of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) constitutes a real alternative to the capitalist system, especially for people and movements fighting for a more just world. The economy is…
In the first meeting of the Peoples’ Platform Europe, 800 delegates representing more than 160 organisations from 35 countries and territories answered this call. Together, we took important first steps, in beginning to build common analyses of the pressing social and political issues of our time, and in how to organise together. The following text…
This brochure is a compilation of four interviews analysing the Kurdish and Palestinian resistance. The huge solidarity shown worldwide in the face of the genocide against the Palestinian people has drawn the attention again to the Middle East. In the midst of this chaos and genocide, a strong historical consciousness is needed to find long-term solutions. These interviews give an insight and analysis on the political situation in the Middle East, and share possible solutions for the Kurdish and Palestinian quests for freedom.
Alongside radical democracy and women’s liberation, ecology is also a central pillar in the paradigm of democratic modernity. Against the backdrop of the ever-advancing climate catastrophe and the necessary discussion about a proper strategy for ecological movements worldwide, Öcalan’s ideas summarised in this brochure take on a special significance. While aggressive capitalism is confronting the environment in many parts of the world – such as the targeted ecocide in Kurdistan or neo-extractivism in Latin America – Öcalan’s proposals and the visible attempt to implement them in Kurdistan may be the right recipe for a world plagued by environmental destruction.
Duran Kalkan is a co-founder and member of the Executive Committee of the PKK. In this extensive interview, he talks about how to understand democratic socialism in the new paradigm and the importance of social sciences. In addition to the history of democratic civilisation, he describes how to understand state and revolution. Furthermore, he discusses the question of the revolutionary vanguard in the construction of democratic modernity as well as the class question. The interview was conducted in May 2023 in the Medya Defence Areas (Southern Kurdistan).
Abdullah Öcalan poses the question of what role culture plays in social transformation. In particular, in Volumes I, II, III and V of “Manifesto of Democratic Civilization”, he explores the question of how cultural resistance to the homogenization of the nation-state expresses itself: “Traditions and cultures are acts of resistance in and of themselves. They will either be destroyed or will survive, because their character is such that they do not know how to capitulate. At the next opportunity, their very nature requires that they resist even more vigorously. Nation-state fascism failed to take this reality into account. Suppressing them, even assimilating them, does not necessarily mean that they will cease to exist.”
Mustafa Karasu, is a founding member of the PKK and a member of the Executive Council of the KCK. In this extensive interview, he analyses the current situation of the world capitalist system and the impact of the Third World War on the Middle East. In addition to the war in Ukraine, he discusses the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on capitalist modernity and societies. He further formulates important perspectives on the forces of democratic modernity and its current challenges. The interview was conducted in May 2023.
In the following, we will present the alternative system of democratic modernity and elaborate its significance as a new school of social science. With a definition of “World Democratic Confederalism”, the principles for a new internationalism will be illustrated and the concrete tasks for the construction of democratic modernity will be described.
We attempt to present the basic motivations and conflicts of the forces of capitalist modernity in the third world war and define its specific characteristics and distinction from the previous world wars.
