The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria: Between A Rock and A Hard Place
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria: Between A Rock and A Hard Place
Author(s): Thomas Schmidinger
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Social Sciences, Political Sciences, Governance, Sociology, Military policy, Inter-Ethnic Relations, Ethnic Minorities Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies
Published by: Transnational Press London
Keywords: Arabs; Autonomy; Christians; invasion; ISIS; Jewish; Rojava; Russia; Schmidinger; Syrian Kurds; Turkey; USA; war in Syria; Yezidis;
Summary/Abstract: This book is based on papers presented at the conference. However, it is not a typical publication of academic conference proceedings because the topics are not completely congruent with those of the conference. Some lectures that could not be held due to travel restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic were submitted as book contributions. In addition, I also wrote a short contribution on the Jewish history of the region, which has been often neglected in previous presentations of the region.The various authors for this volume have been intensively involved with the region in recent years. However, the authors do not only focus on the situation on the ground, but also on the international context of the autonomous administration. The conflict in Syria is no longer just a civil war, but a transnational conflict with important roles played not only by actors such as Russia or the USA, but also Turkey or Iran.Given the transnationality of the conflict and the role of the hegemonic powers, these authors share thoughtful analyses from very different perspectives. It is important to share these diverse views with the world so that the tragic conflict might become more comprehensible. This does not mean, however, that I necessarily advocate each particular position taken by the varied contributors to this book. The intent is to offer you multiple perspectives and certainly not a common narrative.
- Print-ISBN-13: 978-1-912997-51-0
- Page Count: 217
- Publication Year: 2020
- Language: English
History Of Syrian Kurds And Their Political Parties
History Of Syrian Kurds And Their Political Parties
(History Of Syrian Kurds And Their Political Parties)
- Author(s):Jordi Tejel
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Ethnohistory, Political history, Electoral systems, Inter-Ethnic Relations, Asylum, Refugees, Migration as Policy-fields
- Page Range:21-33
- No. of Pages:13
- Keywords:History; Syrian; Kurds; Political Parties;
- Summary/Abstract:As the Syrian army pulled out of several towns in the north and northeast of the country in July 2012, Kurds found themselves masters of their own destiny after more than 40 years of dictatorship and political marginalisation.In the face of the sudden retreat of the state security apparatus, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and the Kurdish National Council, composed of sixteen political parties, signed a political agreement providing for the creation of a joint Supreme Kurdish Council and the establishment of‘popular defence forces’ in order to secure Kurdish gains. However, despite the apparent unity, the operational capacity of the Supreme Kurdish Council was hindered by an unbalanced power relationship between the PYD and the Kurdish National Council, in favour of the former, as well as their uneven representation in the three main Kurdish enclaves in northern Syria (Allsopp2014: 194–200).
- Price: 4.50 €
Christians in North Syria: Syriacs, Assyrians, Armenians, and Kurdish converts
Christians in North Syria: Syriacs, Assyrians, Armenians, and Kurdish converts
(Christians in North Syria: Syriacs, Assyrians, Armenians, and Kurdish converts)
- Author(s):Thomas Schmidinger
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Christian Theology and Religion, Inter-Ethnic Relations, Ethnic Minorities Studies, Politics and Identity, Identity of Collectives
- Page Range:35-54
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:Christians; North Syria; Syriacs; Assyrians; Armenians; Kurdish converts;
- Summary/Abstract:In Efrîn and North and East Syria, Christians of different ethnicities have had a home next to Muslim, Yazidi, and Alevi Kurds. Especially the Jazira region (Kurdish: Cizîre) has one of Syria’s largest Christian minorities. The attacks by jihadists and the Turkish army threaten these Christians. Before the war, more than 200,000 Christians lived in the region. However, that number might have dropped to less than 100,000 people, because many Christians became victims of attacks by the so-called Islamic state (IS) in 2014and 2015 and by the Turkish-led invasion of October 2019. Others fled to Europe in the years of civil war.
- Price: 4.50 €
Yezidis in Syria
Yezidis in Syria
(Yezidis in Syria)
- Author(s):Sebastian Maisel
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Ethnic Minorities Studies, Sociology of Religion, Politics and Identity, Identity of Collectives
- Page Range:55-70
- No. of Pages:16
- Keywords:Yezidis; Kurdish; ethno-religious community; historically lived; northern Mesopotamia; stretching; Aleppo; Mosul; northern Iraq; Armenia; Germany; Syria; Georgia; history;
- Summary/Abstract:Yezidis, a Kurdish-speaking ethno-religious community, have historically lived in northern Mesopotamia stretching from Aleppo to Mosul. Today,they mainly live in northern Iraq. Smaller groups are found in Armenia,Germany, Syria, and Georgia. The community’s religious centre is Lalish in the Sheikhan District west of Mosul, Iraq. The leaders of the Yezidis, MirTahsin Beg and the religious authority of the Baba Sheikh Ba’dhra, reside in a small town close to Lalish. Other significant religious sites such as temples,shrines, and centres of religious learning had been established in Efrîn (Syria), Achnalik (Armenia) and Tbilisi (Georgia). This chapter gives an overview of the Yezidi community in Syria, its origins, history, and current situation.
- Price: 4.50 €
The Jews of North and East Syria and their Heritage
The Jews of North and East Syria and their Heritage
(The Jews of North and East Syria and their Heritage)
- Author(s):Thomas Schmidinger
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Jewish studies, History of Judaism, Politics and religion, Politics and society, Sociology of Religion
- Page Range:71-80
- No. of Pages:10
- Keywords:religious history; north and east Syria; Muslims; Christians; Yazidis; Jews; Jewish community; Nusaybin; Turkish Syrian-Turkish border crossing; Qamishli; Kurdish; indigenous Jews no region’s;
- Summary/Abstract:The religious history of north and east Syria includes not only Muslims,Christians and Yazidis, but also Jews, mainly connected with the Jewish community of Nusaybin on the Turkish side of the present Syrian-Turkish border crossing at Qamishli (Kurdish: Qamişlo). Although indigenous Jews no longer live in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria,the region’s cultural and religious diversity include a Jewish heritage.
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On the Kurdish Quest for Autonomy: Rojava’s Political System and the Structures of Self-Administration in North and East Syria
On the Kurdish Quest for Autonomy: Rojava’s Political System and the Structures of Self-Administration in North and East Syria
(On the Kurdish Quest for Autonomy: Rojava’s Political System and the Structures of Self-Administration in North and East Syria)
- Author(s):Rosa Burç
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Governance, Ethnic Minorities Studies, Politics and Identity
- Page Range:81-96
- No. of Pages:16
- Keywords:Kurdish; Quest; Autonomy; Rojava’s Political System; Structures of Self-Administration; North and East Syria;
- Summary/Abstract:With the withdrawal of the Syrian government’s military forces in 2012from Syria’s northern areas with a Kurdish-majority population, local political forces not only achieved control but also became vanguards in building an autonomous entity, widely known as Rojava, based on the principles of decentralisation, pluralism, and grassroots organisation. Although the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) came into being as the first formalised and institutionalised form of Kurdish territorial autonomy, theRojava model manifests a developing, yet new, approach to the question of self-determination for the Kurds and other minorities in the Middle East. It shifts the focus from the non-existence of Kurdistan as a nation state towards the role of bottom-up politics as a counter-hegemonic sphere built through women’s autonomy, radical self-governance, as well as the reinvention of nationhood beyond ethnic dogmatism.
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Struggle against ISIS and the Integration of Arab territories in the Autonomous Administration
Struggle against ISIS and the Integration of Arab territories in the Autonomous Administration
(Struggle against ISIS and the Integration of Arab territories in the Autonomous Administration)
- Author(s):Wladimir van Wilgenburg
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Government/Political systems, Inter-Ethnic Relations, Ethnic Minorities Studies, Politics and Identity, Identity of Collectives, Peace and Conflict Studies
- Page Range:97-115
- No. of Pages:19
- Keywords:Autonomous Administration; North and East Syria; Arab majority areas such; Manbij; Raqqa; Kurdish towns; northern Syria; Derik; Efrin; Kobani; Syrian Democratic Forces;
- Summary/Abstract:The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) was formed in September 2018 (Wilgenburg 2018). The administration includes Arab majority areas such as Manbij, Raqqa, parts of Deir al-Zor province and Kurdish towns of northern Syria (Reuters 2018). Although the People’s Protection Units (Yekîneyên Parastina Gel - YPG) initially only controlled Kurdish majority towns such as Derik, Efrin, Kobani and Amuda in 2012(Reuters 2012), the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spearheaded by the YPG by 2018 already controlled a quarter of the country (Reuters 2018). This essay will explain how the project of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the YPG initially had a more Kurdish focus on Rojava (West Kurdistan1) but increasingly focused on gaining a more ‘Syrian focus’ after the integration of Arab territories in the autonomous project from 2013 to 2019 during the fight against ISIS. As a result, the YGP became the SDF, and the Democratic Union Party (PYD) became the SDC. Also, the geographical focus changed from Rojava to the northeast of Syria.
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Turkey’s War in Syria: Prevention or Expansion
Turkey’s War in Syria: Prevention or Expansion
(Turkey’s War in Syria: Prevention or Expansion)
- Author(s):Arzu Yılmaz
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Military history, Recent History (1900 till today), Military policy, Peace and Conflict Studies
- Page Range:117-132
- No. of Pages:16
- Keywords:Turkey’s War in Syria; Turkey; Syria; war;
- Summary/Abstract:The international community have mostly perceived Turkish military interventions in north of Syria as the “legitimate right [of Turkey] to protect its borders”, since the Syrian crisis that later deteriorated into a proxy war has revealed a dramatic decline in Middle Eastern states’ capacities to politically and militarily control their territorial peripheries.
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The impact of Turkey’s 2019 invasion on North and East Syria
The impact of Turkey’s 2019 invasion on North and East Syria
(The impact of Turkey’s 2019 invasion on North and East Syria)
- Author(s):Thomas McClure, Nina Steinhardt
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Military history, Government/Political systems, Military policy, Peace and Conflict Studies
- Page Range:133-152
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:Turkish invasion; North and East Syria; Rojava; Information Center (RIC); Turkish Armed Forces; proxy militias; widespread attacks; systematic looting; systematic attempt; Turkey;
- Summary/Abstract:Throughout the Turkish invasion of North and East Syria, the Rojava Information Center (RIC) collected information from a network of sources across the region as well as RIC field teams, documenting the impact of the invasion on civilian populations and infrastructure. The RIC has found that the Turkish Armed Forces and its proxy militias are responsible for widespread attacks on non-combatants, systematic looting and destruction of private property and public infrastructure, and mass displacement of civilians. The RIC documented a clear trend of Turkish forces targeting health workers, vehicles and infrastructure, as well as destruction of water and electricity facilities, bakeries, roads, grain storage facilities, and so on. A number of high-profile human rights violations, such as the field execution of female Syrian politician Hevrin Khalef and the strike on a civilian convoy which left thirteen civilians dead, take place against a background of a systematic attempt to make life unliveable for civilians in the zones Turkey aims to occupy. The forcible displacement of the civilian population in general and the Kurdish, Yazidi, and Christian populations in particular, to facilitate the installation of Turkmen and Arab militiamen and their families,ought to be seen as a process of demographic engineering for which the Turkish government is ultimately responsible.
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United States-Kurdish Relations over North-eastern Syria: From instrumentalism to doctrinism?
United States-Kurdish Relations over North-eastern Syria: From instrumentalism to doctrinism?
(United States-Kurdish Relations over North-eastern Syria: From instrumentalism to doctrinism?)
- Author(s):Nazan Bedirhanoğlu
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Government/Political systems, International relations/trade, Military policy, Inter-Ethnic Relations, Politics and Identity
- Page Range:153-172
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:United States; Kurdish Relations North-eastern Syria; instrumentalism; doctrinism;
- Summary/Abstract:October 31, 2014 was not an ordinary day for the Rhode Island College community. Barack Obama was about to give a speech on their campus and a large crowd enthusiastically filled a hall waiting to see him. Some in the crowd, however, were even more interested in this public spectacle: it was almost one and a half month after the siege of Kobane by the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIS). Members of the New England Kurdish Association (NEKA), a non-profit cultural organisation of Kurdish Americans, were ready at the hall, wearing ‘Save Kobane’ and Kurdistan-mapt-shirts, even though the event’s organisers strictly prohibited the use of any political symbols during the event. While the crowd gathered, two officials asked the group about their leadership and Mehmet Akbas stepped forward thinking that they would be warned about the ‘no signs’ rule.
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Russian Positions on Syria and Syrian Kurds
Russian Positions on Syria and Syrian Kurds
(Russian Positions on Syria and Syrian Kurds)
- Author(s):Konstantin Truevtsev
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Governance, International relations/trade, Inter-Ethnic Relations, Penal Policy, Geopolitics, Politics and Identity, Peace and Conflict Studies
- Page Range:173-183
- No. of Pages:11
- Keywords:Russian foreign policy; Syrian; Kurdistan; Relations on the governmental; Iran; Turkey; Iraq; Assad; Syria; Kurdish ties; Syrian Communist Party; Khaled Bakdash;
- Summary/Abstract:Russian foreign policy initially did not place a high priority on the issue of Syrian Kurdistan. Relations on the governmental level with Iran, Turkey,Iraq, and Assad‘s Syria overshadowed this issue that remained extremely marginal until 2011 despite the Kurdish ties of the long-time leader of the Syrian Communist Party, Khaled Bakdash.
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Weapons, Borders, and Human Rights: The complicated relationship between the European Union and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria
Weapons, Borders, and Human Rights: The complicated relationship between the European Union and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria
(Weapons, Borders, and Human Rights: The complicated relationship between the European Union and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria)
- Author(s):Francesco Marilungo
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, International relations/trade, Military policy, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment, Politics and Identity, Peace and Conflict Studies
- Page Range:185-199
- No. of Pages:15
- Keywords:Weapons; Borders; Human Rights; European Union; Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria;
- Summary/Abstract:When we consider the European Union’s general policy towards the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Kurdish: RêveberiyaXweser a Bakur û Rojhilatê Sûriyeyê, hereafter simply NES), we must assume that the European Union (EU) does not have any single policy towards the NES. Indeed, it is hard to speak of a EU coherent foreign policy on anyissue.1 In recent years, we became accustomed to complaints about the lack of a broad European policy on defence and foreign affairs, as well as exhortations to create a common continental approach to international security issues. Presently, each Member State moves with considerable autonomy, taking care primarily of its national interests and reacting mostly to domestic grievances, whilst the European bloc in itself seems to move steadily towards irrelevance in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)region, where global and regional powers have reduced European influence.Recent events, such as the Turkish invasion of areas of northern Syria in October 2019, have only confirmed what analysts have been saying about EU foreign policy in the last years: ‘that the EU has little influence over the course of events in Syria’ (Pierini, 2016).
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The UN and the Turkish Invasion in Syria
The UN and the Turkish Invasion in Syria
(The UN and the Turkish Invasion in Syria)
- Author(s):Christoph Osztovics
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Security and defense, Military policy, Ethnic Minorities Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies
- Page Range:201-207
- No. of Pages:7
- Keywords:Turkey’s military; ‘Peace Spring’; Tall Abyad; Ra’s al-Ayn; Syrian Arab Republic; Turkish government; Kurdish political entity;
- Summary/Abstract:On 9 October 2019, Turkey’s military launched operation ‘Peace Spring’in an area between Tall Abyad and Ra’s al-Ayn in the Syrian Arab Republic.Over 200,000 civilians fled their homes amid the initial hostilities, reportedly123,000 had returned by November (UN Security Council 2019).1 Syrian Islamist militias aided the Turkish military forces. The so-called ‘anti-terror campaign’ declared a goal of creating a 30 kilometre-deep ‘safe zone’ on the Syrian side of the border. The Turkish government has long wanted to establish such a zone to prevent the creation of a Kurdish political entity.
- Price: 4.50 €