Harriet Allsopp is a freelance expert on the Middle East, with a particular emphasis on Syrian and Kurdish politics.

First English-language book to capture the major transformations that have occurred for Syrian-Kurds since the outbreak of the Syrian War.

MapsNote on Transliteration and Bibliographic Referencing List of Acronyms and AbbreviationsIntroduction
Scope of the study:
Method and Fieldwork
Clarifications and definitions:

1 Identity and Representation I: the foundations of identity formation and representation
The demography of governance
Key influences on Kurdish identity formation
o State building and legitimacy:
o Tribal and local sub-state identities and channels of representation:
o Pan-state identity:
§ International class solidarity
§ Religion
§ Pan-state Kurdish identity
Politics and political identity
o The 1957 genealogy
o The PKK and PYD
The Effects of the Crisis on Identity

2 Kurdish Political Parties: A Comparison of Political Values

Parties of 1957 and the KNC
o The political spectrum and fragmentation
o The dominant parties of the 1957 genealogy
o The Kurdish National Council (KNC)
o KNC policy and internal divisions
o Military organisations
o Party alliances and affiliations within the Syria
The PYD
Armed forces
PYD alliances and affiliations within Syria
Cooperation and disagreement between the PYD and KNC
A Comparison of political values
o Democracy
o National and ethnic rights
o Women's rights
o The Future of Syria

3 PYD-led Governance Structures: From the DAAs to Federalism
The development of 'Democratic Autonomy': From the PYD to a federal region in under five years
Power structures and constituent parts
o Local DAA Governance
o Councils and Communes
o The economy
o The Education system
o Media
The Security of the Administrations
o The Asayish
o The YPG
o Self-Defence Forces (HXP) and Civil Defence Forces (HPC)
o Other Military forces
o Salaries
The move towards federalism
Local Obstacles to DAA control and to federalism
· Ethnic and political diversity
· KNC-PYD tensions and political opposition
A new state structure?

4 Identity and Representation II: The Democratic Autonomy Project

Direct democracy in practice
Transformations in identity and understandings of representation 2011-2016
Women's representation
A revolution in representation? Opinions about the system

5 The Role of Regional and International Actors

Intra-Kurdish power relations
Regional Relations
· Turkey
· Iraq
· The Syrian government
· Iran
International Relations
· The USA
· Russia

6 The Prospects of Kurdish Self-Representation and Self-Governance

The State context: Representation and identity
The northern Syria context
Kurdish society
Uncertainty

Bibliography