IS THE PYD A CONTINUATION OF THE PKK AN IDEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CONCEPTS OF DEMOCRATIC CONFEDERALISM AND DEMOCRATIC AUTONOMY

Yıl 2024, Cilt: 3 Sayı: 2, 239 - 272, 28.06.2024

Turgay Demir

Öz

Since the early stages of the Syrian civil war (summer of 2012), there has been a question whether the PYD (Democratic Union Party/Partiya Yetikiya Demokrat) in Syria is identical to the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party/Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan) in Türkiye. This is mainly because of the ideological links and organizational similarities between them. This article scrutinizes the ideological relationship between the PYD and the PKK by approaching the topic from an academic perspective. By tracing the PYD’s concept of democratic autonomy and investigating its relevance to Abdullah Ocalan’s concepts of democratic confederalism and democratic nation, the paper analyzes and compares the ideologies of the PYD and the PKK. Consequently, the article argues that the PYD embraces and implements Abdullah Ocalan’s concept of democratic confederalism under the names of democratic autonomy or self-governance and attempts to concretize the concept of democratic nation as the main indicators that PYD is an ideological continuation of the PKK in Syria.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Democratic Confederalism, Democratic Autonomy, PYD, PKK, Syrian Civil War

PYD PKK’NİN BİR DEVAMI MI DEMOKRATİK KONFEDERALİZM VE DEMOKRATİK OTONOMİ KAVRAMLARININ İDEOLOJİK BİR ANALİZİ

Öz

Since the early stages of the Syrian civil war (summer of 2012), there has been a question whether the PYD (Democratic Union Party/Partiya Yetikiya Demokrat) in Syria is identical to the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party/Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan) in Türkiye. This is mainly because of the ideological links and organizational similarities between them. This article scrutinizes the ideological relationship between the PYD and the PKK by approaching the topic from an academic perspective. By tracing the PYD’s concept of democratic autonomy and investigating its relevance to Abdullah Ocalan’s concepts of democratic confederalism and democratic nation, the paper analyzes and compares the ideologies of the PYD and the PKK. Consequently, the article argues that the PYD embraces and implements Abdullah Ocalan’s concept of democratic confederalism under the names of democratic autonomy or self-governance and attempts to concretize the concept of democratic nation as the main indicators that PYD is an ideological continuation of the PKK in Syria.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Demokratik Konfederalizm, Demokratik Otonomi, PYD, PKK, Suriye İç Savaşı

Kaynakça

• Akkaya, A.H. and Jongerden, J. 2011. The PKK in the 2000s, Casier, M., and Jongerden, J. (Eds). Nationalisms and Politics in Turkey: Political Islam, Kemalism and the Kurdish Issue. (pp.143-162), Routledge: Abingdon.
• Albayrak, A., & Corker, M. (17 October 2014). 'My Bravery Shames Them': Kurdish Women Battle Islamic State on Front Lines. The Wall Street Journal. Accessed: 28 October 2022 https://www.wsj.com/articles/kurdish-women-fight-on-front-line-against-islamic-state-1413580188.
• Allsopp, H., & Wilgenburg, W. (2019). The Kurds of Northern Syria: Governance, Diversity and Conflicts. I.B. Tauris.
• Allsopp, H. (2015). The Kurds of Syria. London – New York: I.B. Tauris.
• Allsopp, H. (2013). The Kurdish Autonomy Bid in Syria: Challenges and Reactions. Ahmed, M. M. and Gunter, M. M. (Ed.). The Kurdish Spring: Geopolitical Changes and the Kurds in. (pp.218-49). Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers.
• Al-Tamimi, A.J., (2013). The Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham. Middle East Review of International Affairs Journal, 17(3): 19-44.
• Anadolu Agency (2021). (14 April 2021). US renews bounty on wanted PKK terrorists up to $5M. Accessed: 26 March 2024. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-renews-bounty-on-wanted-pkk-terrorists-up-to-5m/2209123.
• Anadolu Agency (2018). (6 November 2018). US puts bounty on key PKK terrorists up to $5M. Accessed: 26 March 2024. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-puts-bounty-on-key-pkk-terrorists-up-to-5m/1304391.
• Barfi, B. (2016). Ascent of the PYD and the SDF. Research Notes, No.32: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Accessed: 6 July 2020.https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/ResearchNote32-Barfi.pdf.
• Bengio, O. (2020). Reclaiming National Identity in Kurdish School Textbooks. The Middle East Journal, 74(3): 359-378.
• Çalışkan, M. (2020). Suriye’de PKK Faaliyetlerinin Tarihî Arka Planı ve PYD Terör Örgütünün Siyasallaşma Çabaları. Üsküdar Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, (10): 63-91.
• Demir, T. (2023a). Terör, Otonomi ve Aktörlük: PYD ve Sivil Savaş Kaynaklı Siyasal Fırsatların Kullanımı. Ortadoğu Etütleri Dergisi, 14(2): 149-177.
• Demir, T. (2023b). Syrian Kurds, The Democratic Union Party (PYD), and The Strategic Framing of The Civil War: Selling The New Model of Governance, Lexington Books: Lanham Maryland.
• Demirel, G. (2017). Terör Örgütlerinin Kimlik İnşasında Etkisi: PYD-YPG ve Suriye'de Kürt Kimliği. Ulisa: Uluslararası Çalışmalar Dergisi, 1(1): 25-41.
• Dinç, P. (2020). The content of school textbooks in (nation) states and “stateless autonomies”: A comparison of Turkey and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava). Nations and Nationalism, 26(4): 994-1014.
• Enzinna, W. (29 November 2015). The Rojava Experiment. The New York Times. Accessed: 17 June 2022. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/magazine/a-dream-of-utopia-in-hell.html.
• Erol M. S., & Çelik, K. E. (2018). ABD’nin Suriye Politikasında Vekil Aktör Olarak Terör Örgütleri: YPG Örneği. Bölgesel Araştırmalar Dergisi, 2(2): 14-45.
• Espinosa, E.B. & Ronan, A. (2022). Rojava's 'War of Education': The Role of Education in Building A Revolutionary Political Community in North and East Syria, Third World Quarterly, Accessed: 5 September 2023, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01436597.2022.2115884.
• Fırat News Agency (2024a). (28 January 2024). Attacks on Rojava are a crime against humanity and can’t prevent the guerrillas ‘just cause’. Accessed: 18 March 2024. https://anfenglishmobile.com/features/-71498.
• Fırat News Agency (2023c). (13 December 2023). New Social Contract enter into force in North-East Syria. Accessed: 21 March 2024. https://anfenglishmobile.com/features/new-social-contract-enters-into-force-in-north-east-syria-70754.
• Fırat News Agency (2023b). (15 May 2023). KCK celebrates Kurdish Language Day, calling for enhanced struggle for the right to mother tongue. Accessed: 18 March 2024, https://anfenglishmobile.com/culture/-67195.
• Fırat News Agency (2022b). (14 August 2022). Karayılan: The guerrilla of the 21st century will prove its invincibility. Accessed: 18 March 2024. https://anfenglishmobile.com/features/-61838.
• Fırat News Agency (2021a). (12 May 2021). Emergency Committee for Rojava writes to Secretary of State Blinken about 3 PKK leading figures. Accessed: 18 March 2024. https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/-51986.
• Fırat News Agency (2018h). (15 December 2018). Kurdish organizations meet in Brussels against the US decision. Accessed: 15 March 2024. https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/-31431.
• Fırat News Agency (2018g). (19 November 2018). People of Ayn Isa protest Turkish attacks, US decision, isolation. Accessed: 19 March 2024. https://anfenglishmobile.com/rojava-syria/-30895.
• Fırat News Agency (2018f). (15 November 2018). Qamishlo people against US decision, Turkish attack and isolation. Accessed: 15 March 2024. https://anfenglishmobile.com/rojava-syria/-30844.
• Fırat News Agency (2018e). (15 November 2018). People of Kobane protest against Turkish attacks and US decision. Accessed: 15 March 2024. https://anfenglishmobile.com/rojava-syria/-30843.
• Fırat News Agency (2018d). (12 November 2018). Martyrs’ Families in Rojava rally against the US decision. Accessed: 15 March 2024. https://anfenglishmobile.com/rojava-syria/-30784.
• Fırat News Agency (2018c). (4 April 2018). KCK’s Bayık discloses latest information on Imralı. Accessed: 15 March 2024. https://anfenglishmobile.com/features/-25897.
• Fırat News Agency (2018b). (27 January 2018). Karayılan: Turkish state has been defeated in Afrin. Accessed: 15 March 2024. https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/-24493.
• Fırat News Agency (2017h). (27 November 2017). Karayılan: Our march will win victory in the 40th year of the PKK. Accessed: 15 March 2024. https://anfenglishmobile.com/features/-23370.
• Fırat News Agency (2017f). (20 October 2017). Karayılan congratulates the Raqqa victory. Accessed: 15 March 2024, https://anfenglishmobile.com/features/-22798.
• Fırat News Agency (2017e). (14 August 2017). Karayılan: The 34th year will be the year of freedom of Kurdistan. Accessed: 15 March 2024. https://anfenglishmobile.com/features/-21540.
• Fırat News Agency (2015d). (19 December 2015). Karayılan: Kurdish people’s struggle has entered a new phase. Accessed: 12 March 2024. https://anfenglishmobile.com/features/-13412.
• Fırat News Agency (2015b). (17 July 2015). Karayılan: Turkish state told Rojava Administration to ‘not go any further. Accessed: 12 March 2024. https://anfenglishmobile.com/kurdistan/-12013.
• Fırat News Agency (2015a). (17 June 2015). Karayılan: Success against ISIS is a victory for humanit. Accessed: 7 March 2024, https://anfenglishmobile.com/kurdistan/karayilan-success-against-isis-is-a-victory-for-humanity-11682.
• Fırat News Agency (2014a). (18 September 2014). Thousands preparing to secure Kobane border. Accessed: 12 March 2024. https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/-9236.
• Fırat News Agency (2013b). (6 December 2013). Muslim: We will not allow for a second Lausanne. Accessed: 7 May 2017. https://anfenglish.com/features/muslim-we-will-not-allow-for-a-second-lausanne-8848.
• Fırat News Agency (2012b). (10 December 2012). PYD leader puts the Kurdish case for achieving peace in Syria. Accessed: 7 May 2017. https://anfenglish.com/news/pyd-leader-puts-the-kurdish-case-for-achieving-peace-in-syria-6405.
• Fırat News Agency (2012a). (27 October 2012). PYD Co-Chair Asya Abdullah: A women Revolution. Accessed: 7 May 2017. https://anfenglish.com/news/pyd-co-chair-asya-abdullah-a-women-revolution-6230.
• Gunter, M.M., (2014). Out of nowhere: The Kurds of Syria in peace and war. Oxford University Press.
• Gunter, M.M., (2000). The continuing Kurdish problem in Turkey after Ocalan's capture. Third World Quarterly, 21(5): 849-869.
• Hawar News Agency (2024). (21 January 2024). Journey of declaration of Democratic Autonomous Administration. Accessed: 21 March 2024, https://hawarnews.com/en/journey-of-declaration-of-democratic-autonomous-administration.
• Jongerden, J., & Akkaya, A. H. (2013). Democratic Confederalism As a Kurdish Spring: The PKK and The Quest for Radical Democracy. Ahmed, M. M. and Gunter, M. M. (Ed.). The Kurdish Spring: Geopolitical Changes and the Kurds in (pp.163-185). Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers.
• Kaya, Z., & R. Lowe. (2017). The Curious Question of the PYD-PKK Relationship. Stanfield, G. and Shareef, M. (Ed.). The Kurdish Question (Revisited) in (pp.275-87). London: Hurst & Company.
• Kerman, İ., and Efegil, E. (2017). Terör Örgütü PKK/PYD’nin Suriye’de İzlediği İç Savaş Stratejisinin Değerlendirilmesi. Uluslararası Kriz ve Siyaset Araştırmaları Dergisi, 1(2): 162-198.
• Knapp, M., Flach, A. & Ayboga. E. (2016). Revolution in Rojava: Democratic Autonomy and Women’s Liberation in Syrian Kurdistan. Pluto Press: London.
• Kinghts, M. & Wilgenburg, W. (2021). Accidental Allies: The U.S. – Syrian Democratic Forces Partnership Against the Islamic State. London: I.B. Tauris.
• KurdWatch Interview. (8 November 2011). “Turkey's henchmen in Syrian Kurdistan are responsible for the unrest here”. Accessed: 13 July 2016. http://www.kurdwatch.org/html/en/interview6.html.
• Kurdishquestion.com (7 October 2016). 'Kurdish Women in Europe Must Become Decision Makers': PYD Co-Chair Asya Abdullah. Accessed: 8 May 2017. http://kurdishquestion.com/article/3510-039-kurdish-women-in-europe-must-become-decision-makers-039-pyd-co-chair-asya-abdullah.
• Kurdistan National Congress (KNK). (2014). Canton Based Democratic Autonomy of Rojava: A Transformations Process From Dictatorship to Democracy. Brussel. Accessed: 20 February 2016. https://peaceinkurdistancampaign.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/rojava-info-may-2014.pdf.
• Kusilek, C. (June 2019). The Larger Battle for Aleppo: The Removal of US Troops from Syria and the Struggle for Provincial Aleppo. Shattuck Center, CEU School of Public Policy. Accessed: 12 December 2022, https://www.thealeppoproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/KusilekTheLargerBattleforAleppo2019.pdf.
• McDowall, D. (2004). Modern History of the Kurds. IB Tauris.
• Ocalan, A. (2016). Democratic Nation. International Initiative: Germany. Accessed: 5 July 2018. http://ocalanbooks.com/downloads/democratic-nation.pdf.
• Ocalan, A. (2011). Democratic Confederalism. International Initiative: London.
• Paasche, T. (2015). Syrian and Iraqi Kurds: Conflict and Cooperation. Middle East Policy, 22(1): 77-88.
• Rojava Information Center (2022). (September 2022). Young and Promısıng: An Introductıon to The NES Unıversıty System. Accessed: 17 January 2023. https://rojavainformationcenter.com/2022/09/young-and-promising-an-introduction-to-the-nes-university-system/.
• Savelsberg, E., & Tejel, J. (2013). The Syrian Kurds in “Transition to Somewhere.”. Ahmed, M. M. and Gunter, M. M. (Ed.). The Kurdish Spring: Geopolitical Changes and the Kurds in (pp.189-217). Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers.
• Social Contract of Rojava. (2014). Accessed: 22 February 2016. https://peaceinkurdistancampaign.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/english-version_sc_revised-060314.pdf. Social Contract of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of the North and East Syria Region. (2023). Accessed: 19 March 2024. https://rojavainformationcenter.org/2023/12/aanes-social-contract-2023-edition/.
• Tank, P. (2021). Rebel Governance and Gender in Northeast Syria: Transformative Ideology As A Challenge to Negotiating Power. Third World Thematics: A TWQ Journal, 6(1-3): 69-87.
• The Constitution and Programme of The Democratic Union Party (PYD). (2013). Accessed: 24 August 2016.https://web.archive.org/web/20130119122626/http://www.pydrojava.net/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=7&Itemid=54.