A new brochure, published by the Academy of Democratic Modernity (ADM), aims to spread the ecological thought of jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan.
The new publication, which is entitled ‘Ecology: The Rebellion of the Environment’ and available in both German and English on the ADM website, compiles the Kurdish political theorist’s previously published writings on the issue in his “Beyond State, Power and Violence” and “Manifesto for a Democratic Civilisation”, volumes I and III. As ADM note, the Kurdish figurehead and political theorist “is regarded as a leading strategist and one of the most important political representatives of the Kurdish people. Under conditions of isolation on İmralı Island Prison, off the coast of Turkey, Öcalan has written more than ten books, which have revolutionised Kurdish politics.”
As such, the new publication aims to introduce Öcalan’s thought on the environmental crisis currently facing the planet and its potential resolution through his unique political paradigm known as ‘democratic confederalism’ to a wider audience. In their introduction, the ADM explain: “For Öcalan, the ecological crisis cannot be detached from social conditions. The roots of the ecological crisis, which is intensifying parallel to the capitalist systemic crisis, should be sought at the beginning of civilisation.”
This analysis of the intimate relation between capitalist nation-states and ecological degradation leads the Kurdish leader to call for a total re-evaluation of humans’ relationship to nature and the environment, as the basis for a new political system which will supersede hierarchical and extractive relationships.
As Öcalan is quoted as saying, “A social consciousness devoid of ecological consciousness will inevitably be corrupted and fall apart, as was the case with [state] socialism. Ecological consciousness is a fundamental ideological consciousness. It’s a bridge between philosophy and morality.”
This leads the Kurdish thinker to argue for “A truly unified struggle for democracy and socialism”, which “will only be possible when women’s freedom and the environment’s liberation are targeted. Only the struggle for this sort of new and integrated social system can provide one of the most meaningful forms for coming out of the present chaos.”
The ADM is a social science institution, which says it aims to “strive to spread the ideas and rich experience of the Kurdistan Freedom Movement and its paradigm of Democratic Modernity. Our publication activities are intended to start discussions with activists, academics and various anti-systemic and social movements in order to move forward in our search for a radical alternative to capitalist modernity and to realise a free life.” As such, they focus on debate, publication, and building connections on the basis of the political paradigm advanced by Öcalan.
