The future of Syria is being shaped today not by the will of its peoples, but by Turkey’s authoritarian regime and its regional and international extensions. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s statement that “everyone should unite under Syrian citizenship” is presented at first glance as an inclusive call for civic unity. In reality, however, it functions as an ideological cover for a centralized and sectarian regime project aimed at eliminating ethnic, religious, and political pluralism. While not a single concrete step has been taken to constitutionally guarantee the rights of Kurds, Alawites, Druze, Yazidis, and other peoples, a political order in which all dissent is suppressed through force is being marketed as “positive progress.”

The model imposed on Syria today does not represent a break from the Assad regime, but rather the reproduction of its authoritarian legacy in an Arab-Sunni, jihadist, and one-man-rule form. This regime makes no reference to democracy, negotiation, or equality among peoples. On the contrary, it is constructing a system of violence aimed at suppressing all progressive and pluralistic social dynamics. It is impossible for the Marxist left, democratic social forces, and oppressed peoples to accept this imposition.

Rojava: A Living Democratic Alternative

Against this dark picture, there exists in Syria a concrete and living alternative: Rojava. For nearly a decade, the democratic confederalist model implemented in Rojava has offered a political order based on a system of communes, councils, and assemblies; co-chair leadership; women’s liberation; multi-ethnic and multi-faith representation (Kurds, Arabs, Syriacs, Armenians); and secular, grassroots organization. This model is not an abstract utopia, but a progressive governance practice that has continued to function even under conditions of war, based on the direct participation of the people.

Precisely for this reason, Rojava has become a target of the interim and illegitimate jihadist administration in Damascus and the forces supporting it. This appointed, sectarian, centralist structure reliant on mercenary militias seeks to eliminate through massacre the pluralistic and emancipatory model represented by Rojava. Attacks on Rojava are directed not only against the Kurdish people, but against Syria’s democratic future as a whole.

Hegemony and Violence: Rethinking Syria with Fanon and Gramsci

To understand the struggle in Syria, it is necessary to think hegemony and violence together. In this regard, Frantz Fanon and Antonio Gramsci offer two intellectual horizons that are not opposed to each other, but complementary.

Fanon emphasizes that colonial order is founded on naked violence. Colonialism does not rely on reason or compromise, but on the continuous use of force. For this reason, in colonized societies, reformism, dialogue, or mediation represent dead ends; they serve no function other than reproducing the colonial order. For Fanon, counter-violence is not a choice but an imposed necessity. However, the legitimacy of this violence depends directly on the purposes it serves and the political strategy to which it is subordinated.

Gramsci, on the other hand, shows that armed struggle alone is insufficient to seize power; what is decisive is hegemony. Hegemony is constructed not only over the state apparatus but within civil society—through parties, trade unions, associations, and religious and cultural institutions. This process, which he defines as a “war of position,” aims to secure social consent prior to the conquest of power. Yet for Gramsci as well, violence is not entirely excluded; rather, it gains meaning as a moment of the hegemonic struggle insofar as it is subordinated to political objectives.

In the Syrian reality, neither purely armed struggle nor exclusively peaceful politics is sufficient on its own. What is required is the coordinated pursuit of mass civil struggle and self-defence. The role of armed forces should not be to incite civil war or militarize society, but to prevent the massacre and annihilation of democratic and unarmed popular movements.

Within this framework, the existence of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and defence structures forged through struggle in Rojava is decisive. When guided by a correct military-political strategy, it is not easy for the jihadist administration in Damascus to carry out a comprehensive invasion of Kurdish regions and other communities. More importantly, with a broad democratic vision encompassing all of Syria, this administration can be either overthrown or compelled to accept a decentralized political structure.

A Minimum Program for a Democratic and Socialist Syria

The foundation for a progressive way forward in Syria can be built around a shared democratic program. Its core elements should include:

• The declaration of peace throughout the country and with neighboring states
• The dismantling of mercenary jihadist forces and foreign militias
• The construction of a people-based, democratic defense force
• The guarantee of free organization for Kurds, Alawites, women, socialist forces, and all social groups
• The reactivation of trade unions and all social organizations
• The formation of a Constituent Assembly representing all components of society
• A reconstruction process led by local governments with popular participation
• An economic order closed to imperial plunder and neoliberal policies
• A secular, pluralistic, and egalitarian state structure

There is no room for silence among leftist, socialist, and democratic forces in Turkey in the face of attacks on Rojava. The Kurdish hostility of nationalist-reactionary circles within the CHP is directed not only against progressive forces in Syria, but also against the historical achievements of the republic in Turkey. Every success of the forces attacking Rojava in Syria deepens authoritarianism and reaction in Turkey as well.

For this reason, the CHP, the Marxist left, and all democratic forces must, with internationalist responsibility, stand in solidarity with Rojava and defend the right of Syria’s peoples to freely determine their own future.

The path to a democratic and socialist future in Syria lies not only through military victories, but through the construction of a shared popular hegemony. Without uniting Kurds, Arabs, Alawites, Druze, women, and workers into a broad popular bloc, the conquest of power is impossible. Such a bloc must aim at a decentralized, pluralistic, and egalitarian national unity, while also embracing genuine internationalism and solidarity with progressive movements beyond borders.

Today, Rojava is not only defending itself; it is defending the democratic future of Syria and the region. There is no neutrality in this struggle. Either the struggle for freedom and equality of the peoples will prevail, or a colonial, sectarian, and authoritarian regime of violence will become permanent.