Statelet of Survivors: The Making of a Semi-Autonomous Region in Northeast Syria

A remarkable examination of an understudied aspect of the Syrian conflict that traces the genealogy of one of the most radical social experiments in self-governance of our time.Syrian Kurds and their Arab and Christian allies have embarked on one of the most radical experiments in self-governance of our time. In defiance of the Assad regime, the Islamic State, and regional autocrats, this unlikely coalition created a statelet to govern their semi-autonomous region. In Statelet of Survivors, Amy Austin Holmes charts the movement from its origins to what it has become today. Drawing from seven years of research trips to northern and eastern Syria, Holmes traces the genealogy of this social experiment to the Republic of Mount Ararat in Turkey, where a self-governing entity was proclaimed in 1927 based on solidarity between Kurds and Armenian genocide survivors. Founded by survivors of modern-day atrocities, the Autonomous Administration does more to empower women and minorities than any other region of Syria. Holmes analyzes its military and police forces, schools, the judicial system, the economic model it has implemented, and strategy of empowering women who were once enslaved by ISIS. An in-depth examination of the region Kurds call Rojava, this book tells the remarkable story of the people who both triumphed over ISIS and created a model of decentralized governance in Syria that could eventually be expanded if Assad were to ever fall.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: A Genealogy of Rojava: Kurds and Armenians Declare the Republic of Mount Ararat 1926-1932 Chapter 3: The SDF: The Evolution of the YPG into Syria's Second Largest Armed Force Chapter 4: Life under ISIS: A War of Women Against Women Chapter 5: Women in the Statelet of North and East Syria Chapter 6: Delinking from Damascus: The Economic Underpinnings of Political Autonomy Chapter 7: The School of Revolution: The Autonomous Administration Creates a New Education System Chapter 8: Yezidis and the Statelet of Survivors: Recognition, Representation, Religious Freedom, and Protection Chapter 9: Conclusion Appendix Notes Index

About the Author :
Amy Austin Holmes is Research Professor of International Affairs and Acting Director of the Foreign Area Officers Program at George Washington University. Dr. Holmes has published widely on the global American military posture, the NATO alliance, non-state actors, revolutions, and military coups. She has a PhD from Johns Hopkins University, and previously served as a tenured Associate Professor at the American University in Cairo, and as a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University. Dr. Holmes is the author of Social Unrest and American Military Bases in Turkey and Germany since 1945 and Coups and Revolutions: Mass Mobilization, the Egyptian Military and the United States from Mubarak to Sisi (Oxford, 2019). In addition to her academic career, Dr. Holmes served as an advisor at the US Department of State through a Council on Foreign Relations fellowship. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she also worked as a volunteer lecturer at the Kyiv School of Economics.

Review :
In this fascinating and timely book, Amy Austin Holmes puts a different spin on the Kurdish-led social experiment in north and east Syria. Insightful and provocative, the book highlights a secular/democratic alternative that carries the potential to counter the rising tide of religious movements in the Middle East. While the Kurdish-led battle against ISIS was recognized by 82 countries, yet why have none of these countries then recognized the ensuing statelet of Rojava? This very well written book based on original research in the region very ably analyzes the historical genealogy of Rojava, including the significant roles women and minorities play in the body politic. A must read for all interested in nation and state formation in the Middle East and elsewhere. For almost a decade, Washington has battled the extremist Islamic State along with Syrian Kurds. Holmes, through her on the ground meticulous research, sheds a unique light of the complex history, organization and successes of this hitherto misconstrued 'nation.' She brings to life the women and men who have sacrificed to protect, against all odds, a diverse set of populations and themselves from powerful states and terror groups. This is a must-read guide to them. In this book, Amy Austin Holmes combines the keen gaze of an academic with the very relatable first-person narrative of a travel writer. Anyone who ever wanted to see past the headlines and better understand what has really been happening in northeast Syria since 2011 should read this. Dr Holmes has crisscrossed the region back and forth during the past decade, speaking extensively with and surveying Kurds, Arabs, Christians, Yezidis, Turkmen and the leadership of a wide array of autonomous bodies in northeast Syria. Whether layperson or expert on the region, no one will be able to put this book down without having learned a good deal they did not know before. A monument to victim agency and intersectional solidarity, this book combines ground-breaking field research with historical insights. Amy Austin Holmes powerfully demonstrates how seeds of state-building buried a century ago on Mount Ararat are budding today in Northern Syria. Challenging nationalism as the dominant frame of understanding the region, this book unpacks how the scars of history can serve as impetus for collaborative governance in the time of adversity. The significance of this book cannot be overstated. It stands as essential reading for policy-makers and practitioners engaged in policy matters concerning Syria, Turkey, and Iraq. Additionally, academics and analysts seeking a nuanced, fieldwork-based understanding of events in northeastern Syria and its surrounding areas will undoubtedly benefit from its invaluable insights and timely analysis. The significance of this book cannot be overstated. It stands as essential reading for policy-makers and practitioners engaged in policy matters concerning Syria, Turkey, and Iraq. Additionally, academics and analysts seeking a nuanced, fieldwork-based understanding of events in northeastern Syria and its surrounding areas will undoubtedly benefit from its invaluable insights and timely analysis.