Beyond State, Power, and Violence

Gefängnisschriften

by Abdullah Öcalan, Andrej Grubačić (Foreword), International Initiative (Editor)

After the dissolution of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) in 2002, internal discussions ran high, and fear and uncertainty about the future of the Kurdish freedom movement threatened to unravel the gains of decades of organizing and armed struggle. From his prison cell, Abdullah Öcalan intervened by penning his most influential work to date: Beyond State, Power, and Violence. With a stunning vision of a freedom movement centered on women’s liberation, democracy, and ecology, Öcalan helped reinvigorate the Kurdish freedom movement by providing a revolutionary path forward with what is undoubtedly the furthest-reaching definition of democracy the world has ever seen. Here, for the first time, is the highly anticipated English translation of this monumental work.
 

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Philosophy

688 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Abdullah Öcalan is the founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). From 1984, under his leadership, the PKK fought for Kurdish liberation. Since his kidnapping and arrest in 1999, he has been in solitary confinement in Imrali Island Prison.

Since his imprisonment, Ocalan has written extensively on Middle Eastern and Kurdish history. With his books he has significantly influenced the course of Kurdish politics in the last two decades.

He argues for the concepts of Democratic Autonomy and Democratic Confederalism that are considered an alternative to a Kurdish nation-state.

From 2009-2015, the Turkish state held negotiations with him about a solution of the Kurdish Question. Since the collapse of the talks in 2015, Öcalan has been under total isolation.

Reviews

[LunaSanguine · Rating 5 out of 5]

[2019]
Ich hab durchaus meine Kritikpunkte an Öcalan. Er stellt relativ oft Aussagen an und begründet sie nicht, er wiederholt sich viel, seine feministischen Konzepte beruhen häufig auf Stereotypisierung, er verwendet oft „Demokratie“, wo ich von „Anarchie“ sprechen würde (jedoch: Inhalte sind wichtiger als Semantik-Streitereien!).
Und trotzdem gibt er mir einfach viele Impulse, die vielleicht Grundlage dafür sein können, Konzepte für das Jetzt zu entwickeln. Utopien sind super als Stern in der Ferne, als Orientierungspunkt, aber konkrete Ideen, welche Schritte dort hinführen, sind nun einmal unabdingbar, um sinnvoll politisch zu agieren – und ich denke eben, dass Öcalan für die Entwicklung solcher hilfreich sein kann.
Außerdem fand ich auch die Absätze über die Geschichte der türkisch-kurdischen Beziehungen und die der PKK ausgesprochen spannend.

[Redpoet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply outstanding….

[Rui Coelho · Rating 2 out of 5]

Basically plagiarising Bookchin. Not even well written.

[Barış Can · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would be better if the author uses references while giving postulates, claiming truth