What Does Self-Administration Mean? Ronyar Ibrahim and Sami al-Kayal

What Does Self-Administration Mean? Ronyar Ibrahim and Sami al-Kayal
What does the principle of “self-administration,” or self-management in general, mean? And why has this principle been discussed so extensively since the beginning of the Syrian war? Sami al-Kayal discusses with Syrian writer and novelist Ronyar Ibrahim the concept of the “state” within political culture in Syria and the region, the crises it has led to, and attempts to move beyond it through projects such as “self-administration.” The two writers discuss the ideas of a number of thinkers who put forward the concept of self-management, such as Abdullah Öcalan and Omar Aziz, and how it was applied in certain parts of the country, such as northeast Syria and the local councils in a number of towns that were outside the former regime’s control. Was self-management truly an alternative to the domination of regimes and repressive states? Or does it reproduce authoritarianism? And can local communities be relied upon to manage their own affairs independently and democratically, or will they sink into extremism and internal conflicts if left to themselves? Follow the third episode of the sixth season of the program “Public Sphere.”