L29Ah
In the modern world, the level of aggression continues to decline, and the level of publicly demonstrated tolerance for systemic aggressive violence is lower than ever. Therefore, news that in some godforsaken hole in the world, some strange people have been fervently warring for years, prompting many non-combatants to undertake distant and dangerous migrations, is a powerful irritant. One feels the urge to appear, kick everyone into gear, force them to shake hands, and engage in something more useful than self-extermination.
Then, of course, you remember that this is exactly why the USA, RF, and Turkey invaded inhospitable Syria, and you realize that “enforcing peace” is some kind of creepy scenario. Especially when it is done at the expense of taxpayers, while the profit goes to the suppliers of cannon fodder and the seize-rs of oil fields.
Attempts to figure out who is more “right” in this conflict essentially boil down to determining whose system of values is closer to yours, so that you can go on rooting for the least obnoxious team, wishing that they would finally just dominate everyone else.
The Turks appear to be the main assholes in the conflict, playing a role in the region similar to that of the Russians in the post-Soviet space, though I fully admit this may be an aberration of my perception.
The desire of the inhabitants of any given region for self-governance is, of course, completely legitimate in my eyes, while the desire of central authorities to actively manage local affairs is with equal obviousness illegitimate—regardless of whether we are talking about Syrian Kurdistan, Chechnya, or West Virginia. However, the same can be said regarding the desire of regional authorities to rule locally by curtailing the powers of local administrations, and accordingly, regarding local administrations that violate individual autonomy.
As far as I can judge by official data and anarchist propaganda, the situation with individual autonomy specifically in Rojava is quite decent, and for such a heavily war-torn region, it is downright exemplary. There exists a relatively functional grassroots democracy and secular legislation, and the problem of the region’s complex ethnic composition is solved through quotas in self-governance bodies, which is quite natural for such situations.
The gender equality declared by Rojava’s laws always deserves a special mention, placing this entity in the same league as a civilized neighbor like Israel. This state looks like the most obvious ally for Rojava after the USA and Russia finally withdraw their contingents from the region, and Turkey also curbs its foreign military activity. Of course, this is merely a well-wish that good people should stick together, not a real prediction.
Are there any good purely political or military scenarios for Rojava in all this mess going on there? No. The autonomy skillfully maneuvers between several predators, but it lacks the strength to defend its freedom and security relying on its own forces, and it is unlikely such strength will appear.
All that remains is to hope that Rojava can ensure the most favorable PR for itself. Here, it seems to me, they could partially adopt the experience of Georgia, which managed to strengthen itself quite well in its region through liberal reforms, transparency, and openness to guests. Currently, Rojava has the image of a left-anarchist commune, and for Europeans, these guys are associated with squats, looting, eternal irritating street activism with a vague message about destroying capitalism—and similar hooliganism. It doesn’t seem that such customs are actually actively in use in Rojava, which means there is no need to remain within the confines of such a suspicious image. Socialist communes do not fare well in attracting direct foreign investment, whereas the presence of a large number of assets held by foreigners, in the absence of one’s own strong army and friendly neighbors, is capable of providing a more or less reliable protection.
