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| Kurdistan / Syria
Rojava, the PYD and Kurdish self-determinationThe Kurds of Syria, that is of West Kurdistan (Rojava), have now become key actors in the combined process of counter-revolution, civil war and self-determination underway in Syria. The PYD (Democratic Union Party) had already taken de facto control in the enclaves of Kobané first, then of Afrin and Jazira, following the withdrawal of the Assad regime’s forces in July 2012, and it had declared autonomy in this region in January 2014 as a reaction to not being invited to the second Geneva conference. But it was mainly with the siege of Kobané by Islamic State and the audacious resistance of the Popular Protection Units (YPG), and particularly the women fighting in the ranks of the YPJ, that the forces linked to the PYD and the experience of self-determination in Rojava obtained legitimacy and enjoyed support at the international level. -> read article... |
| Pakistan
Fear and dissent in OkaraThe widespread use of exceptional legal and administrative measures to intervene in social conflicts, particularly in the aftermath of the National Action Plan [1], is radically altering legal and political conceptions of citizenship in Pakistan. While many have considered the legal aspects of this seemingly permanent state of emergency, there is a need to debate how this environment is (re)defining acceptable political dissent and notions of a legitimate political community. -> read article... |
| Philippines
The left currents in the Philippines and the Duterte presidencyThe election to the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte revealed and amplified the crisis of the political system in the Philippines, opening a period of uncertainty which is still far from over. Before and after the elections of May 9, 2016, the various forces of the left had to take a position regarding a marginal candidate whose victory seemed for a long time inconceivable, but who received massive popular support, to the point of completely transforming the electoral contest. In fact, the future of the left is to a large extent being determined today. -> read article... |