In Pursuit of Freedom, Justice, Dignity, and Democracy
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In pursuit of freedom, justice, dignity, and democracy Rojava’s social contract Institutional development in (post) – conflict societies “In establishing this Charter, we declare a political system and civil administration founded upon a social contract that reconciles the rich mosaic of Syria through a transitional phase from dictatorship, civil war and destruction, to a new democratic society where civil life and social justice are preserved”. Wageningen University Social Sciences Group MSc Thesis Sociology of Development and Change Menno Molenveld (880211578090) Supervisor: Dr. Ir. J.P Jongerden Co – Supervisor: Dr. Lotje de Vries 1 | “In pursuit of freedom, justice, dignity, and democracy” – Rojava’s social contract Abstract: Societies recovering from Civil War often re-experience violent conflict within a decade. (1) This thesis provides a taxonomy of the different theories that make a claim on why this happens. (2) These theories provide policy instruments to reduce the risk of recurrence, and I asses under what circumstances they can best be implemented. (3) I zoom in on one policy instrument by doing a case study on institutional development in the north of Syria, where governance has been set – up using a social contract. After discussing social contract theory, text analysis and in depth interviews are used to understand the dynamics of (post) conflict governance in the northern parts of Syria. I describe the functioning of several institutions that have been set –up using a social contract and relate it to “the policy instruments” that can be used to mitigate the risk of conflict recurrence. I conclude that (A) different levels of analysis are needed to understand the dynamics in (the north) of Syria and (B) that the social contract provides mechanisms to prevent further conflict and (C) that in terms of assistance the “quality of life instrument” is best suitable for Rojava. 2 | “In pursuit of freedom, justice, dignity, and democracy” – Rojava’s social contract Preface The idea of this thesis originates from a flyer that was passed on during one of the courses of the Master International Development Studies curriculum. The flyer depicted the subject of the Social Contract in Relation to Rojava. Although I was not very familiar with the name Rojava, I had read previously read about the concept of the social contract, which immediately drew my attention. Whether the areas in which governance has been set up using the social contract are called Rojava, Syria or anything else depends on who you ask, and whatever they make of it. My motivation for this thesis as such was mostly related to institutional development in relation to conflict recurrence. To quote Waltz (1959) “asking who won a given war, is like asking who won the San Francisco earthquake, in wars there is no victory but only varying degrees of defeat”. Unfortunately because of security reasons I have not been able to do my research within the areas itself, still a war zone, the risks simply couldn’t be justified. Acknowledgements Many people contributed to the end product, and I would like to thank all my interviewees; Sheruan Hassan, Ercan Ayboga, Sinam Mohammed, and Robert Lowe, but also Bonnie Bogaard who helped me with the planning of the first interview. Finally I would like to thank Joost Jongerden for his support and positive suggestions during the past months. 3 | “In pursuit of freedom, justice, dignity, and democracy” – Rojava’s social contract Frequently used Terms Conflict Trap After violent intra state conflict, countries have an increased risk of returning to violence within the first decade or the postconflict phase. Around fifty percent of all civil wars, re –start again, within a decade. Intra – state conflict According to Doyle and Sambanis (2000) intra state conflict is an armed conflict when it suffices all the following conditions: (a) it caused more than one thousand deaths overall and in at least a single year; (b) it has challenged the sovereignty of an internationally recognized state; (c) it occurred within the recognized boundary of that state; (d) it involved the state as a principal combatant; (e) it included rebels with the ability to mount organized armed opposition to the state; and (f) the parties were concerned with the prospect of living together in the same political unit after the end of the war (Doyle and Sambanis, 2000, p.10). Libertarian Municipalism A political ideology described by Murray Bookchin emphasizing, decentralised politics, a “cooperative economy”, gender equality and a social ecology. Rojava In Kurmanji, Rojava translates into: the west. The west in this case refers to “the western parts of Kurdistan”. Rojava consists of three cantons: Cezîre, Kobanê and Afrin also refered to as the autonomous regions. Social contract Theoretical concept with two functions; describes the historical inception of states, or thought experiment for determining principles of justice. 4 | “In pursuit of freedom, justice, dignity, and democracy” – Rojava’s social contract List of political actors in Rojava (Khalaf, 2016). Assad, Bashar President of Syria (disputed) since 2000, and commander of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA). DAA Democratic Autonomous Administration A structure of local governance systems comprised of local councils and assemblies across three cantons the PYD collectively calls Rojava. SDF Syrian Democratic Forces Alliance of Arab and YPG/YPJ armed groups created in 2015 and of whom the majority belongs to the YPG/YPJ. It is supported by the United States fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and other jihadist groups. PYD (Partiya Yekîtiya Dîmokratik) - Kurdish Democratic Union Party Founded in 2003, the PYD is the dominant force in Kurdish majority areas in Syria. It established the Rojava governance project, which it administers though its subsidiary organizations. The PYD is often considered the PKK’s militant sister organization in Syria, although it denies this. PKK Kurdistan Workers’ Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê) A Marxist-Leninist Kurdish militant party founded by Abdullah Öcalan in 1978 seeking Kurdish self-determination in Turkey. Its base is in the Qandil mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan. TEV-DEM Movement for a Democratic Society (Tevgera Dîmokrat) The PYD-dominated coalition leading the Rojava project. YPG People’s Defense Units (Yekîneyên Parastina Gel) The armed service of the PYD, and, by extension, the Rojava project. YPJ Women’s Defense Units (Yekîneyên Parastina Jinê) The woman’s armed service of the PYD, and, by extension, the Rojava project. 5 | “In pursuit of freedom, justice, dignity, and democracy” – Rojava’s social contract List of tables and figures Figure 1: Phases of conflict……………………………………………….………………………. P.13 Figure 2: The conflict trap: Three levels of analysis ……...................... P.15 Figure 3: The conflict trap: Security Firsters……………………………………………..P.18 Figure 4: The conflict trap: Collier…………………………………………………………….. P.19 Figure 5: The conflict trap: Fukuyama…………………………………………………….. P.20 Figure 6: The path – dependency of the post conflict ……………………………. P.22 Figure 7: Turkish, Syrian, and Iraqi Kurds – political movements………… P.44 Figure 8: Global trends in armed conflict………………………………………………….. P.73 Table 1: Postconflict conditions and policy recommendations………………… P.24 Table 2: Social contract theory: Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau……….…….. P.28 Table 3: Research Designs…………………………………………………………………………. P.36 Table 4: Answering the research questions…………………………………..…………. P.41 Table 5: The Trias Politica of Rojava………………………………………………….……… P.54 Table 6: Rights and liberties………………………………………………………………………. P.52 Table 6: The functions of the legislative Assembly………………………..………… P.53 Table 7: Democratic Confederalism…………………………………………….……………. P.53 Table 8: The Legislative Assembly…………………………………………………………….. P.56 Table 9: The Executive Council………………………………………………………………….. P.57 Table 10: The Supreme Constitutional Court………………………………..…………. P.58 Table 11: The Canton Governor………………………………………………………………… P.60 Table 12: The municipal council……………………………………………………………….. P.61 Table 13: Intrastate conflict terminations over time ………………………........ P.73 Table 14: Civil war recurrence: Risk factors…………………………………………….. P.74 Table 15: Overview of Civil wars P.76 Table 16: The higher commission of elections…………………………………………. P.77 Table 17: Procedure for determination of the constitutionality of laws…. P.78 Map 1: The military situation in Syria (01 -05 -2017). P.79 6 | “In pursuit of freedom, justice, dignity, and democracy” – Rojava’s social contract Table of Contents (1) Introduction: violent conflict & development ........................................................ 8 The Syrian conflict and Rojava .............................................................................10 (2)Theoretical chapter – conflict trap theory ............................................................11 (2.1) Conflict trap theory – empirical patterns .......................................................11 (2.1.1) Conflict trap theory - units of analysis and theoretical arguments ..................12 (2.2) Policy instruments & the strategic deficit .......................................................21 (2.3) Summarizing the postconflict literature & the aim of this thesis .....................25 (2) Theoretical chapter - Social contract theory ........................................................26 (2.4) Social contract theory .................................................................................26 (2.4.2) Modern