Abdullah Öcalan – författare

These are the essential writings of a man who inspired a new, egalitarian socialist regime in the Middle East, which is currently fighting for survival against religious extremism and state violence. Abdullah Ocalan led the struggle for Kurdish liberation for more than 20 years until his capture in 1999. Now, writing from prison in Turkey, he has inspired a new political movement. Called Democratic Confederalism, this revolutionary model is developing on the ground in parts of Syria and Turkey; it represents an alternative to religious sectarianism, patriarchy, capitalism and chauvinistic nationalism, providing the blueprint for a burgeoning radical democratic society.This selection of Ocalan's writings is an indispensable introduction for anyone wanting to engage with his political ideas. His central concepts address the Kurdish question, gender, Democratic Confederalism and the future of the nation. With The Political Thought of Abdullah Ocalan, his most influential ideas can now be considered and debated in the light of his continuing legacy, most notably in the ongoing revolution in Rojava.

Vi är i behov an en analys av det civiliserade samhället som möjliggör överskridandets kritik. Att enbart kritisera den kapitalistiska moderniteten har visat sig otillräckligt, vilket många tankeströmningar, i synnerhet marxisterna, har erfarit. Den främsta orsaken till detta tillkortakommande är att analyserna har bortsett från det civiliserade samhället, trots att det är oupplösligt förbundet med moderniteten. Den eurocentriska världsbilden tycks ha tystat även de mest högljudda kritiska rösterna. Därför är det avgörande att tydliggöra det historiska och samhälleliga förhållandet mellan den europeiska civilisationen, tidigare civilisationer och den neolitiska kulturen. Även om jag saknar formell expertis ser jag det både som min rätt och min plikt att försöka mig på en sådan analys, eftersom denna civilisation har dömt mig till ett liv under svår repression.

Abdullah Ocalan was the most wanted man in Turkey for almost two decades until his kidnapping and arrest in 1999. He has been in prison ever since. This is the first publication of his writings amassed during his imprisonment.As the founder of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), the group 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.Since his imprisonment, Ocalan has written extensively on Kurdish history. This book brings together his writings for the first time. Breathtaking in scope, it provides a broad Marxist perspective on ancient Middle Eastern history, incorporating the rise of the major religions (Islam, Christianity and Judaism), and defining the Kurdish position within this, from the ancient Sumerian civilization through the feudal age, the birth of capitalism and beyond.

'Only those who bear the responsibility for war can assume the responsibility for peace' – Abdullah ÖcalanFor decades, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, have fought against the Turkish state. Now, the possibility for peace seems closer than ever. In his first major work for over a decade, the leader and the architect of the peace process, Abdullah Öcalan, delivers a roadmap for the reconstruction of society based on communalism, eco-industry, and radical democracy.Written from the prison island of Imrali, this is Öcalan's political philosophy, manifesto and strategic intervention in the ongoing peace process in Turkey. He includes rich interventions on the nature of Kurdish existence, their relationship to freedom, the dissolution of the PKK and the future society they will continue to build.Direct and profoundly hopeful, this manifesto offers a conceptual bridge from decades of conflict toward a future of democratic confederalism.

These are the essential writings of a man who inspired a new, egalitarian socialist regime in the Middle East, which is currently fighting for survival against religious extremism and state violence. Abdullah Ocalan led the struggle for Kurdish liberation for more than 20 years until his capture in 1999. Now, writing from prison in Turkey, he has inspired a new political movement. Called Democratic Confederalism, this revolutionary model is developing on the ground in parts of Syria and Turkey; it represents an alternative to religious sectarianism, patriarchy, capitalism and chauvinistic nationalism, providing the blueprint for a burgeoning radical democratic society.This selection of Ocalan's writings is an indispensable introduction for anyone wanting to engage with his political ideas. His central concepts address the Kurdish question, gender, Democratic Confederalism and the future of the nation. With The Political Thought of Abdullah Ocalan, his most influential ideas can now be considered and debated in the light of his continuing legacy, most notably in the ongoing revolution in Rojava.