The greatest achievement of the mind that governs Rojava and Northern Syria has been not only to resist but also to make life possible in the midst of chaos. What is decisive next is the extent to which this surviving capacity will be defended.
HUSEYIN SALIH DURMUS
ANF
ANF
NEWS CENTER
Saturday, January 3, 202
The Syrian civil war has created one of the deepest political and social disintegrations in the modern Middle East. In this geography, where the state apparatus was withdrawn, the law was suspended, and armed groups and foreign interventions determined the field, the prevailing emotion for a long time was only chaos. However, this chaos is not an abstract concept; It expresses a destruction that has a historical scale.
The Syrian crisis, which has been defined as one of the biggest humanitarian disasters of our time since the Second World War, has killed hundreds of thousands of civilians according to United Nations data; It points to a picture where the real loss of life is much higher due to unregistered deaths. Nearly 14 million people are displaced; 6.8 million of them are refugees and 6.7 million live uprooted from their homes in their own country.
More than sixteen million people are in urgent need of humanitarian aid, millions of children are direct victims of war and destruction. These data reveal that what is happening in Syria is not only a civil war, but also one of the deepest social and humanitarian collapses of the modern era.
For this very reason, every attempt at political order that emerges in the midst of destruction of this scale should be considered not only as a choice of governance, but as an existential response to chaos. History is not always written only in the language of destruction. At some moments, order emerges unexpectedly from this very dissolution. Recent world history is more than full of such examples.
The Latin phrase Ordo ab Chao, meaning "order born of chaos", is not a randomly chosen metaphor to describe the experience of Rojava and Northern Syria. The structure that emerged from 2012 onwards is not a premeditated state project; It is the result of the society's effort to protect its own existence and produce continuity in the absence of the state.
This experience, which developed under conditions of security vacuum, sectarian violence and forced migration, was not by suppressing the order; It has tended to establish chaos by recognizing it, internalizing and managing its parameters.
What is being built in Rojava is not a central authority in the classical sense; It is a political mind based on local councils, social participation, women's leadership and multi-ethnic representation. In this respect, Rojava has reversed the understanding of "order first, then society". Society has become the founding subject of the order, not its object. This order, which emerges from chaos, is both innovative and fragile for this very reason.
However, this political order produced by Rojava has been read as a source of uncertainty for the international system, not as an element of stability. Because what hegemonic powers are looking for is not democratic depth or social legitimacy; It is a predictable, negotiable and controllable stability that can be directed when necessary. Rojava, on the other hand, produces value, but cannot be controlled. This has turned it into an experience that needs to be limited rather than a model that needs to be supported. If it were seen as a structure that needed to be liquidated, the orientation of the hegemonic powers would be much more destructive.
This contradiction has been clearly seen in the field. It has been one of the structures with the highest social legitimacy in Syria and also the least protected. On the other hand, centralist, single-interlocutor and negotiable actors have been made "acceptable" options regardless of their background. This choice is the result of the system's own logic rather than a moral deviation.
Not democracy; manageability and manipulability. The de facto exclusion of Hatay and the Golan Heights from the map of Syria is one of the most obvious examples of this approach.
Rojava's dilemma has deepened right here. This order, born out of chaos, has created itself in the field; but he did not have the same power at the table. Under asymmetrical negotiation conditions, political gains were considered as temporary concessions, not rights. Under the headings of "integration", "centralization" and "security", it is aimed to empty this order. The order born of chaos was wanted to be suffocated at the table this time.
Turkey's position has been decisive in this process. Ankara has coded Rojava not as a political experience, but as an existential threat; It continued this approach not only with military operations, but also with diplomatic and political pressures. International actors, on the other hand, saw Rojava as a sacrificial area in order not to directly clash with Turkey. Thus, the discourse of "controllable stability" paved the way for the emptying of what was democratic on the ground under the title of "integration".
However, it would be incomplete to read the order established in Rojava only through security and management headings. Because every political structure that can survive in the midst of chaos must also rely on a social and economic ground that can sustain life. The real success of the mind that governs Rojava and Northern Syria emerges here.
This determination is not only the result of an external reading. The process, which started with the conference held in Amed for the reconstruction of Kobane in 2015 and passed in direct contact with the field until mid-2021, offered the opportunity to concretely observe how this mind works.
The humanitarian aid, health, basic needs and reconstruction works carried out next to the military fronts at that time clearly showed that political claim was only met to the extent that it could sustain daily life. The reality seen on the ground was this: Order is not with slogans; It was carried by health care, the weaving of social networks, the accessibility of the most basic needs, that is, the continuity of life.
For this reason, the economic policies preferred in Rojava and Northern Syria are based on micro-level but extremely decisive steps. Offering consumption items such as sugar, fuel and basic foodstuffs at as accessible and controllable prices as possible; The fact that strategic resources such as oil are not left to market speculation, and most importantly, that health services are organized completely free of charge or without any financial compensation are concrete indicators of this mind.
These are not big ideological claims; they are vital balance tools that prevent the disintegration, migration and dissolution of society.
It should be underlined here that this approach is not a romanticized "alternative economy model". Capitalist reflexes, market relations and irregular practices continue to exist in this geography as well. This is inevitable. What is really decisive is that these reflexes are not allowed to dissolve the political and social fabric. The mind that governs Rojava has focused on maintaining the minimum balance points that will keep the society alive, rather than leaving the economy to the absolute dominance of the free market.
For this very reason, the economic pillar, beyond military and political momentum, is the sustainability test of the order. A ground where people can be treated, access basic needs and are not pushed into absolute uncertainty about tomorrow is the silent but vital carrier of the political order. The reason why Rojava has survived until today is that this carrier mind has been preserved despite all the pressures.
Signs from the field today show that this capacity is directly targeted. The process carried out under the discourse of "integration" is turning into a liquidation line that proceeds with unilateral impositions rather than a mutual and binding reconciliation. Turkey's "multi-tool pressure" strategy, in which diplomacy, security and political pressure are simultaneously activated, aims to be put into readiness for the military, political and social accumulation that has been formed over a decade.
The essence of the initiatives carried out in Turkey under the headings of "Turkey Without Terror" and "National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy" is to take over the gains achieved at great cost in Rojava without a fight. In the final analysis, the cost of a possible war would be heavy for everyone.
The non-implementation of the March 10 Agreement should not be accepted as a calendar of oppression for Rojava and the Kurds. Such time limits are techniques that are loaded from the outside and aim to break the will; it can only be neutralized by a mind that can protect its own internal agenda and political continuity. For this reason, all attacks based on pacifying and breaking the political and military will of Rojava are not only reflexive; It is a vital necessity to systematically refute it with consistent arguments, persuasive political formulations and on legitimate grounds.
In such a situation, the Kurds cannot be expected to remain passive under all circumstances. The issue is not the glorification of war; It is to stand against the normalization of willlessness. A people who are constantly threatened with war cannot be forced to remain silent under all circumstances. Imposed conditions sometimes drag people to thresholds they do not want; This is not a choice, it is a historical squeeze.
And at this point, our duty becomes clear. The purpose of this article is not to give advice to the mind that governs Rojava and Northern Syria. That mind has managed to survive in the midst of war, embargo and siege for more than ten years; He has already produced and proven his own mastery. Our duty is not to applaud this success from afar. The main responsibility is to take a serious and collective political position that can defend this mind under all circumstances, be a voice against attacks targeting it, and speak on its behalf when necessary.
Because some orders survive not because they are recognized from the outside, but because they are not given up from within. The greatest achievement of the mind that governs Rojava and Northern Syria has been not only to resist but also to make life possible in the midst of chaos. What is decisive next is the extent to which this surviving capacity will be defended.
Saturday, January 3, 202
The Syrian civil war has created one of the deepest political and social disintegrations in the modern Middle East. In this geography, where the state apparatus was withdrawn, the law was suspended, and armed groups and foreign interventions determined the field, the prevailing emotion for a long time was only chaos. However, this chaos is not an abstract concept; It expresses a destruction that has a historical scale.
The Syrian crisis, which has been defined as one of the biggest humanitarian disasters of our time since the Second World War, has killed hundreds of thousands of civilians according to United Nations data; It points to a picture where the real loss of life is much higher due to unregistered deaths. Nearly 14 million people are displaced; 6.8 million of them are refugees and 6.7 million live uprooted from their homes in their own country.
More than sixteen million people are in urgent need of humanitarian aid, millions of children are direct victims of war and destruction. These data reveal that what is happening in Syria is not only a civil war, but also one of the deepest social and humanitarian collapses of the modern era.
For this very reason, every attempt at political order that emerges in the midst of destruction of this scale should be considered not only as a choice of governance, but as an existential response to chaos. History is not always written only in the language of destruction. At some moments, order emerges unexpectedly from this very dissolution. Recent world history is more than full of such examples.
The Latin phrase Ordo ab Chao, meaning "order born of chaos", is not a randomly chosen metaphor to describe the experience of Rojava and Northern Syria. The structure that emerged from 2012 onwards is not a premeditated state project; It is the result of the society's effort to protect its own existence and produce continuity in the absence of the state.
This experience, which developed under conditions of security vacuum, sectarian violence and forced migration, was not by suppressing the order; It has tended to establish chaos by recognizing it, internalizing and managing its parameters.
What is being built in Rojava is not a central authority in the classical sense; It is a political mind based on local councils, social participation, women's leadership and multi-ethnic representation. In this respect, Rojava has reversed the understanding of "order first, then society". Society has become the founding subject of the order, not its object. This order, which emerges from chaos, is both innovative and fragile for this very reason.
However, this political order produced by Rojava has been read as a source of uncertainty for the international system, not as an element of stability. Because what hegemonic powers are looking for is not democratic depth or social legitimacy; It is a predictable, negotiable and controllable stability that can be directed when necessary. Rojava, on the other hand, produces value, but cannot be controlled. This has turned it into an experience that needs to be limited rather than a model that needs to be supported. If it were seen as a structure that needed to be liquidated, the orientation of the hegemonic powers would be much more destructive.
This contradiction has been clearly seen in the field. It has been one of the structures with the highest social legitimacy in Syria and also the least protected. On the other hand, centralist, single-interlocutor and negotiable actors have been made "acceptable" options regardless of their background. This choice is the result of the system's own logic rather than a moral deviation.
Not democracy; manageability and manipulability. The de facto exclusion of Hatay and the Golan Heights from the map of Syria is one of the most obvious examples of this approach.
Rojava's dilemma has deepened right here. This order, born out of chaos, has created itself in the field; but he did not have the same power at the table. Under asymmetrical negotiation conditions, political gains were considered as temporary concessions, not rights. Under the headings of "integration", "centralization" and "security", it is aimed to empty this order. The order born of chaos was wanted to be suffocated at the table this time.
Turkey's position has been decisive in this process. Ankara has coded Rojava not as a political experience, but as an existential threat; It continued this approach not only with military operations, but also with diplomatic and political pressures. International actors, on the other hand, saw Rojava as a sacrificial area in order not to directly clash with Turkey. Thus, the discourse of "controllable stability" paved the way for the emptying of what was democratic on the ground under the title of "integration".
However, it would be incomplete to read the order established in Rojava only through security and management headings. Because every political structure that can survive in the midst of chaos must also rely on a social and economic ground that can sustain life. The real success of the mind that governs Rojava and Northern Syria emerges here.
This determination is not only the result of an external reading. The process, which started with the conference held in Amed for the reconstruction of Kobane in 2015 and passed in direct contact with the field until mid-2021, offered the opportunity to concretely observe how this mind works.
The humanitarian aid, health, basic needs and reconstruction works carried out next to the military fronts at that time clearly showed that political claim was only met to the extent that it could sustain daily life. The reality seen on the ground was this: Order is not with slogans; It was carried by health care, the weaving of social networks, the accessibility of the most basic needs, that is, the continuity of life.
For this reason, the economic policies preferred in Rojava and Northern Syria are based on micro-level but extremely decisive steps. Offering consumption items such as sugar, fuel and basic foodstuffs at as accessible and controllable prices as possible; The fact that strategic resources such as oil are not left to market speculation, and most importantly, that health services are organized completely free of charge or without any financial compensation are concrete indicators of this mind.
These are not big ideological claims; they are vital balance tools that prevent the disintegration, migration and dissolution of society.
It should be underlined here that this approach is not a romanticized "alternative economy model". Capitalist reflexes, market relations and irregular practices continue to exist in this geography as well. This is inevitable. What is really decisive is that these reflexes are not allowed to dissolve the political and social fabric. The mind that governs Rojava has focused on maintaining the minimum balance points that will keep the society alive, rather than leaving the economy to the absolute dominance of the free market.
For this very reason, the economic pillar, beyond military and political momentum, is the sustainability test of the order. A ground where people can be treated, access basic needs and are not pushed into absolute uncertainty about tomorrow is the silent but vital carrier of the political order. The reason why Rojava has survived until today is that this carrier mind has been preserved despite all the pressures.
Signs from the field today show that this capacity is directly targeted. The process carried out under the discourse of "integration" is turning into a liquidation line that proceeds with unilateral impositions rather than a mutual and binding reconciliation. Turkey's "multi-tool pressure" strategy, in which diplomacy, security and political pressure are simultaneously activated, aims to be put into readiness for the military, political and social accumulation that has been formed over a decade.
The essence of the initiatives carried out in Turkey under the headings of "Turkey Without Terror" and "National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy" is to take over the gains achieved at great cost in Rojava without a fight. In the final analysis, the cost of a possible war would be heavy for everyone.
The non-implementation of the March 10 Agreement should not be accepted as a calendar of oppression for Rojava and the Kurds. Such time limits are techniques that are loaded from the outside and aim to break the will; it can only be neutralized by a mind that can protect its own internal agenda and political continuity. For this reason, all attacks based on pacifying and breaking the political and military will of Rojava are not only reflexive; It is a vital necessity to systematically refute it with consistent arguments, persuasive political formulations and on legitimate grounds.
In such a situation, the Kurds cannot be expected to remain passive under all circumstances. The issue is not the glorification of war; It is to stand against the normalization of willlessness. A people who are constantly threatened with war cannot be forced to remain silent under all circumstances. Imposed conditions sometimes drag people to thresholds they do not want; This is not a choice, it is a historical squeeze.
And at this point, our duty becomes clear. The purpose of this article is not to give advice to the mind that governs Rojava and Northern Syria. That mind has managed to survive in the midst of war, embargo and siege for more than ten years; He has already produced and proven his own mastery. Our duty is not to applaud this success from afar. The main responsibility is to take a serious and collective political position that can defend this mind under all circumstances, be a voice against attacks targeting it, and speak on its behalf when necessary.
Because some orders survive not because they are recognized from the outside, but because they are not given up from within. The greatest achievement of the mind that governs Rojava and Northern Syria has been not only to resist but also to make life possible in the midst of chaos. What is decisive next is the extent to which this surviving capacity will be defended.
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