TY - JOUR
T1 - Democratic innovations in Mexico and Kurdistan
T2 - The revival of assemblies and councils as traditional democratic institutions
AU - Baris, Hanifi
N1 - This paper is the outcome of a research project funded jointly by the Leverhulme Fund and the University of Aberdeen.
PY - 2022/10/31
Y1 - 2022/10/31
N2 - This article offers a comparative analysis of the origins, political concepts, and institutions of three autonomous administrations in Mexico and Kurdistan: the town of Cherán, the Zapatista region, and Rojava. These autonomous administrations are based on popular assemblies and delegatory councils. The article is inspired by Hannah Arendt’s council system and categorizes them as council autonomies, i.e., non-state variations of council democracy. Drawing on qualitative data and recent scholarship, the article argues that council autonomies innovate democracy through renovating and reinventing Mesoamerican and Mesopotamian traditions of democracy. The article urges scholars of democratic theory to engage non-Western origins, traditions, and versions of democracy.
AB - This article offers a comparative analysis of the origins, political concepts, and institutions of three autonomous administrations in Mexico and Kurdistan: the town of Cherán, the Zapatista region, and Rojava. These autonomous administrations are based on popular assemblies and delegatory councils. The article is inspired by Hannah Arendt’s council system and categorizes them as council autonomies, i.e., non-state variations of council democracy. Drawing on qualitative data and recent scholarship, the article argues that council autonomies innovate democracy through renovating and reinventing Mesoamerican and Mesopotamian traditions of democracy. The article urges scholars of democratic theory to engage non-Western origins, traditions, and versions of democracy.
U2 - 10.58262/ks.v10i2.190
DO - 10.58262/ks.v10i2.190
M3 - Article
SN - 2051-4883
VL - 10
SP - 169
EP - 199
JO - Kurdish Studies Journal
JF - Kurdish Studies Journal
IS - 2
ER -