Non-state Actors in the Middle East

The Example of the North Syrian Kurdish Autonomy (Rojava)

Abstract

The paper is aimed at analysing the roots of the crisis of the existing state system in the Middle Eastern region. Recent years non-state actors have become new strategic players shaping the power balance on the local as well as the regional level. Non-state actors dynamically engage whether with state actors or international players. It is especially true for those weak states, which faced with the challenge of state vacuum (Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen). The paper focuses on the interactive engagement of the non-state actors in the Middle Eastern political orchestra.

            As for the non-state actors are concerned the article puts an emphasis on the Syrian Kurds as a case study in order to show how complex the situation is regarding the ongoing civil war. The Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) has managed to establish a de facto autonomy in Syria mainly building on the ideology of Abdullah Öcalan in Turkey. One of the most important questions raised during any political talks on the Syrian case is the dilemma of introducing a federal system in Syria. The PYD used the fighting against the Islamic State as a political tool aimed at advancing its political interest in the country, vis á vis to be recognized as the leader of the autonomous region. However, forces from within (the Assad regime) and from outside (Turkey) are against the federal state structure of Syria. The article shows how the Syrian Kurds have become strategic players from a neglected community in Syria.