Kurdish Paradox of Statelessness: Öcalan's Confederalism and Turkeyification Strategies (Middle East Today)

By: Kamal Soleimani and Behrooz Shojai

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Synopsis: This book critically examines Abdullah Öcalan’s proposal of "democratic confederalism," introduced in 2005, and its theoretical and practical implications. Despite its claims to transcend the nation-state model, Öcalan’s project leaves the colonial structures of the Turkish, Persian, and Arab states unchallenged, legitimizing their assimilatory and genocidal tendencies. It fails to secure Kurdish self-determination or protect linguistic and cultural rights, including mother-tongue education. The study interrogates these contradictions, offering a comprehensive critique of Öcalan’s ideology and its limited impact on governance, Kurdish identity, and aspirations for autonomy. Drawing on Öcalan’s original Turkish writings, the book challenges prevailing scholarship that often relies on selective translations and sympathetic interpretations. It reveals the foundational limitations of Öcalan’s approach, exposing the structural barriers it sustains and its complicity in perpetuating Turkification tendencies under the guise of Kurdish politics.