| ID | 161147 |
| Title Proper | unsuitable theorist? Murray Bookchin and the PKK |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Muhammad, Umair |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Over the course of the last decade and a half the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has transformed its ideological orientation in accord with the changing outlook of its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Öcalan. It has discarded its erstwhile Marxist-Leninist ideology for the anarchist-inspired thought of the American political theorist Murray Bookchin. Yet, the PKK’s new theorist of choice may not be an entirely suitable one. Bookchin was a rabid anti-nationalist, and this paper argues that, even after having appropriated Bookchin, the PKK has been unable to chart a non-nationalist course. Scholars of the Kurdish question have so far let Bookchin’s seeming unsuitability go unnoticed. This is likely because Bookchin’s thought is not well known. This paper offers an overview of Bookchin’s thought, and in doing so, hopefully contributes to making Bookchin better understood. |
| `In' analytical Note | Turkish Studies Vol. 19, No.5; Nov 2018: p.799-817 |
| Journal Source | Turkish Studies 2018-12 19, 5 |
| Key Words | Kurdish Nationalism ; Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) ; Murray Bookchin ; Abdullah Öcalan ; Democratic Confederalism |