Author: Abdullah ÖcalanPublisher: Pluto Press (UK)
ISBN: 9780745399768
Category : Democracy
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
The essential introduction to the writings of Abdullah Öcalan, founder of Democratic Confederalism
Author: Abdullah ÖcalanSociology of Freedom
Author: Abdullah ÖcalanPublisher: PM Press
ISBN: 1629637734
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 577
Book Description
When scientific socialism, which for many years was implemented by Abdullah Öcalan and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), became too narrow for his purposes, Öcalan deftly answered the call for a radical redefinition of the social sciences. Writing from his solitary cell in İmralı Prison, Öcalan offered a new and astute analysis of what is happening to the Kurdish people, the Kurdish freedom movement, and future prospects for humanity. The Sociology of Freedom is the fascinating third volume of a five-volume work titled The Manifesto of the Democratic Civilization. The general aim of the two earlier volumes was to clarify what power and capitalist modernity entailed. Here, Öcalan presents his stunningly original thesis of the democratic civilization, based on his criticism of capitalist modernity. Ambitious in scope and encyclopedic in execution, The Sociology of Freedom is a one-of-a-kind exploration that reveals the remarkable range of one of the Left’s most original thinkers with topics such as existence and freedom, nature and philosophy, anarchism and ecology. Öcalan goes back to the origins of human culture to present a penetrating reinterpretation of the basic problems facing the twenty-first century and an examination of their solutions. Öcalan convincingly argues that industrialism, capitalism, and the nation-state cannot be conquered within the narrow confines of a socialist context. Recognizing the need for more than just a critique, Öcalan has advanced what is the most radical, far-reaching definition of democracy today and argues that a democratic civilization, as an alternative system, already exists but systemic power and knowledge structures, along with a perverse sectarianism, do not allow it to be seen. The Sociology of Freedom is a truly monumental work that gives profuse evidence of Öcalan’s position as one of the most influential thinkers of our day. It deserves the careful attention of anyone seriously interested in constructive thought or the future of the Left.
Prison Writings
Author: Abdullah OcalanPublisher: Pluto Press (UK)
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 344
Book Description
Venezuela has become a huge source of hope and inspiration for the Left throughout the world. Some see it as a shining example of how to begin building a successful socialist state, but Western leaders see it as a dangerous enemy and accuse President Hugo Chavez of being a dictator. This book reveals the truth by examining the country from the ground up. Iain Bruce explores the political changes underway in Venezuela at the level of the lives of ordinary people. Through grassroots investigations and extended interviews, he explores a series of key transformations: a new social economy around a network of cooperatives; workplace democracy; popular education; radical agrarian reform; participatory budgets and community planning. The result is a clear picture of everyday life in Venezuela. No other book on the country has this level of detail; it will be a key text for students of Latin American politics and social movements and of interest to anyone following the fortunes of the Bolivarian Revolution.
Beyond State, Power, and Violence
Author: Abdullah ÖcalanPublisher: PM Press
ISBN: 1629637807
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 689
Book Description
After the dissolution of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) in 2002, internal discussions ran high, and fear and uncertainty about the future of the Kurdish freedom movement threatened to unravel the gains of decades of organizing and armed struggle. From his prison cell, Abdullah Öcalan intervened by penning his most influential work to date: Beyond State, Power, and Violence. With a stunning vision of a freedom movement centered on women’s liberation, democracy, and ecology, Öcalan helped reinvigorate the Kurdish freedom movement by providing a revolutionary path forward with what is undoubtedly the furthest-reaching definition of democracy the world has ever seen. Here, for the first time, is the highly anticipated English translation of this monumental work. Beyond State, Power, and Violence is a breathtaking reconnaissance into life without the state, an essential portrait of the PKK and the Kurdish freedom movement, and an open blueprint for leftist organizing in the twenty-first century, written by one of the most vitally important political luminaries of today. By carefully analyzing the past and present of the Middle East, Öcalan evaluates concrete prospects for the Kurdish people and arrives with his central proposal: recreate the Kurdish freedom movement along the lines of a new paradigm based on the principles of democratic confederalism and democratic autonomy. In the vast scope of this book, Öcalan examines the emergence of hierarchies and eventually classes in human societies and sketches his alternative, the democratic-ecological society. This vision, with a theoretical foundation of a nonviolent means of taking power, has ushered in a new era for the Kurdish freedom movement while also offering a fresh and indispensable perspective on the global debate about a new socialism. Öcalan’s calls for nonhierarchical forms of democratic social organization deserve the careful attention of anyone interested in constructive social thought or rebuilding society along feminist and ecological lines.
Revolution in Rojava
Author: Michael Knapp (Historian)Publisher: Pluto Press (UK)
ISBN: 9781783719884
Category : Kurds
Languages : en
Pages : 285
Book Description
"Surrounded by enemies including ISIS and hostile Turkish forces, the people in Syria’s Rojava region are carving out one of the most radically progressive societies on the planet. Visitors have been astounded by the success of their project, a communally organised democracy which considers women’s equality indispensable, has a deep-reaching ecological policies, and rejects reactionary nationalist ideology. This form of organization, labeled democratic confederalism, is both fiercely anti-capitalist and boasts a self-defense capacity which is keeping ISIS from their gates. Drawing on their own firsthand experiences of working and fighting in the region, the authors provide the first detailed account of a revolutionary experiment and a new vision of politics and society in the Middle East and beyond"--Back cover.
Prison Writings - The PKK and the Kurdish Question in the 21st Century (International Initiative Edition)
Author: Abdullah OcalanPublisher: TMP Distribution
ISBN: 3942961032
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 308
Book Description
Abdullah Ocalan was the leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK, and the most wanted man in Turkey for almost two decades. He was eventually kidnapped while in Kenya in 1999, and has been in prison in Turkey ever since. From 1984, under his leadership, the PKK fought for an independent Kurdish state in the south east of Turkey. In a sustained popular uprising, tens of thousands of PKK guerrillas took on the second largest army in NATO. The conflict has remained unsolved till today and the fighting still goes on. While in prison, Mr. Ocalan has written a number of books, in which he analyses the situation in Kurdistan and offers proposals for a peaceful solution to the conflict.
Turkey's Kurds
Author: Ali Kemal ÖzcanPublisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134211295
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 318
Book Description
The Kurdish Worker's Party (PKK) is examined here in this text on Kurdish nationalism. Incorporating recent field-based research results and newly translated material on Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK's long-time leader; it explores the nature and the organizational working of the party, from its growth in the late 1970s to its recent shrinkage. A variety of issues are addressed including: * the views and philosophy of Abdullah Ocalan * the successes and failures of the PKK in bringing about the Kurdish opposition in Turkey * the role of PKK's philosophy of recruitment, organizational diligence, use of arms and other contextual factors in Kurdish resistance * factors involved in the development of the nationalism of the Kurds in Turkey. The text also reappraises the Kurdish movement in Turkey and presents insights into the nature of Kurdish social structure, thinking, and the particularities of the Kurdish ethnic distinctness.
Civilization
Author: Abdullah ÖcalanPublisher: Manifesto for a Democratic Civilization
ISBN: 9788293064428
Category : Civilization
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
This manifesto offers the essence of Öcalan's ideas on society, knowledge, and power, and they are crucial for understanding the Kurdish revolution. Öcalan argues that a criticism that limits itself to capitalism is too superficial, and in this work, he turns his eyes to the underlying structures of civilization.
Author: Abdullah Öcalan