Is Rojava anarchist in 2024? In essence the answer to this is no, Rojava is not anarchist. It is though experimenting with certain points that are on the anarchist spectrum.
What though exactly does this mean in practice and will you see anything anarchist in Rojava. We will keep this answer very non-educational (as we will have to write other articles) and use this more as a dummies guide to anarchism.
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Why do people think that Rojava is anarchist?
Mostly because anarchy is a very misunderstood word. In English it means a lack of order or things going badly without law. If this version of anarchy is used than Rojava is far from it.
In fact Anarchism refers to a number of political ideas across the spectrum from left to right and even includes libertarianism, the right to Rojavas left.
Some have opined that Rojava practices left-wing anarchism, or similarly anarchist-syndicalism. These much like socialism – communism can be seen as end goals of a process.
You can read about socialist countries here.
What is Rojava anarchism and what is their ideology?
Is Rojava anarchist to those in power? The simply answer to this is that no they are not. In fact the region is very well regulated with more in common with communism perhaps than anarchism, even of the left. Some though could say it is actually existed anarchism, although I will dodge that one for now.
The ideology of Rojava is evidently leftist for a number of reasons, not least the state apparatus and officially follows Democratic Confederalism as espoused by the Kurd Abdullah Öcalan.
What anarchist elements do you see in Rojava?
This is where anarchist comprehension comes in to things when you look at if Rojava is anarchist, as anarchism wherever it has been successful has been a left-wing branch. Therefore there are some left-wing anarchist ideals you can see.
These include deep attempts ar direct democracy and federalism, as well as more new and niche ideas such as having a man and a woman manager in every state enterprise, as well as encouraging them in others. This was something we saw particularly in Qashimi and Raqqa.
One also sees things like women’s shelters, better pay then anywhere else in the country for state employees, as well as a safety net for those with health issues, as well as being out of work.
This is also supported by left-wing propaganda, a strong military and dare I say a bureaucracy. So, yes there is some anarchy, but you might be quite surprised by just well controlled anarchy can work.
Is Rojava anarchist and does it even matter?
Deep down though and when it comes to Rojava anarchism and the question of is Rojava anarchist for the people on the ground there is truly a refreshing lack of dogmatism. This was something I found when I asked people “If Rojava was anarchist”. Their overall opinion was that labels quite simply did not matter and that they were just trying to do the best for their people.
I not only found this admirable, but also something other left-wing groups around the world could learn from. The people here thohgh hope that Rojava anarchism, or whatever else might be labeled at them not only works for them, but could also be used as a benchmark for the rest of Syria and perhaps the world. Time will only tell if this is accurate or not.