Economy Reading List

THEORY OF COMMUNAL / SOCIAL ECONOMY

Section “The Dimension of Eco-Industrial Society” (pp. 249-256) in the book Sociology of Freedom: Manifesto of the Democratic Civilization Volume III by Abdullah Ocalan

Öcalan discusses the destructive nature of capitalism, redefines the concept of economy and proposes a vision of a “moral and political society” with a decentralized, community-oriented and ecologically-sustainable economy. He addresses questions of property, class, industry, urban-rural divide, and more.

Construction of Democratic, Ecological and Gender Libertarian Communal Economy in Kurdistan, Azize Aslan, 2015

The paper discusses Öcalan’s political-economic thought and outlines his proposal of communal economy within the framework of democratic modernity. It also highlights questions and problem areas in regards to implementation of an economic model based on communality, ecology and women’s freedom.

BUILDING A COOPERATIVE ECONOMY IN NORTH KURDISTAN (TURKEY)

Chapter “Economic Alternatives” (pp. 99- 125) in the book Democratic Autonomy in North Kurdistan by Tatort Kurdistan, 2015 

The chapter contains interviews with members of several cooperatives in Bakur / North Kurdistan (Turkey) which were established as part of the project of building democratic autonomy in that part of Kurdistan before the renewed wave of state oppression in 2015-2016.

Democratic Economy Conference: An Introductory Note, by Yahya M. Madra, 2016. 

Madra outlines the program of economic democratization of the Kurdish movement in Turkey based on the final declaration of the Democratic Economy Conference 2014, which was to serve as a practical policy guidelines for the democratically organized economic bodies (cooperatives, communes, etc) and for municipalities under control of the Kurdish party. Additionally, the author brings attention to antagonistic relations among three major economic blocs in North Kurdistan: a capitalist developmentalist bloc with ties to Turkish and international capital, a democratic economy bloc, and small-scale capitalist formations in the middle.

BUILDING A SOCIAL / COMMUNAL ECONOMY IN ROJAVA

Chapter 12, “Social Economy,” in the book Revolution in Rojava by Knapp, Flach and Eyboga, 2016.

After giving a brief overview of the economic situation in Rojava under the Baath regime, the chapter discusses the concept of social economy, the role of cooperatives in Rojava’s economy-- including several examples of the cooperatives visited by the authors-- and the challenges of building a cooperative economy in Rojava’s context.

Cooperatives in North and East Syria – developing a new economy, by Rojava Information Center, 2020

The economic program of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) presents itself as an alternative to capitalist economies. Its aim is to establish a democratic social economy, based on cooperatives, which moves society towards a more communal economy. Rojava Information Center's report offers an overview of the cooperative economy in the region, including several case studies, based on interviews with the institutions responsible for building cooperatives.

TEV-DEM - Unions and Counter-Power, by Rojava Information Center, 2020

TEV-DEM was founded in 2011 to build up the democratic system of communes and assemblies. However, over time its role has been changed to one of organizing civil society, particularly through unions. Currently, it functions as an umbrella organization and an assembly for all civil society organizations, such as unions and some civil associations. It is envisioned to act as a counter-power to the Autonomous Administration (AANES), “preventing it from reproducing itself as a state and protecting the values of democratic confederalism.”

Section “The economy” (101-109) in the book The Kurds of Northern Syria: Governance, Diversity and Conflicts by Wladimir van Wilgenberg, 2019.

Situating the development of cooperatives within the general view of Rojava’s economy, the section discusses the role of the Autonomous Administration (AANES) in managing the region’s economy and meeting people’s basic needs; property relations; oil production; external trade; the negative effects of the embargo, and more.