What Is Democratic Confederalism?
Democratic confederalism, also known as Kurdish communalism, Öcalanism, or Apoism, is a political concept theorized by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan about a system of democratic… Part of the Anarchist family.
Definition
Democratic confederalism, also known as Kurdish communalism, Öcalanism, or Apoism, is a political concept theorized by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan about a system of democratic self-organization with the features of a confederation based on the principles of autonomy, direct democracy, political ecology, women's liberation ("Jineology"), multiculturalism, self-defense, self-governance, and elements of a cooperative economy.
Definition quoted from Wikipedia: Democratic confederalism (text available under CC BY-SA 4.0; checked October 20, 2026).
Core ideas
- Direct democracy through local assemblies.
- Gender equality.
- Ecology and confederation instead of the nation-state.
Origins
Developed by Abdullah Öcalan in the 2000s; applied in northern Syria.
Associated thinkers and leaders
Abdullah Öcalan, Murray Bookchin
Core ideas, origins and thinkers: Atlas summary.
Where Democratic Confederalism sits on the Atlas maps
| Map dimension | Score (0–100) | Position | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Collective / planned ↔ Market | 27 | toward collective / planned | |
| Social Progressive ↔ Traditional | 21 | toward progressive | |
| Authority Libertarian ↔ Authoritarian | 18 | toward libertarian | |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 38 | near the center | |
| Foreign policy Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 14 | strongly toward non-intervention |
All nine underlying dimensions
| Dimension | Score | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Economic ownership Collective ownership ↔ Private ownership | 18 | toward collective ownership |
| Civil liberties Civil liberty ↔ State restrictions | 29 | toward civil liberty |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 38 | near the center |
| Social and cultural values Progressive ↔ Traditionalist | 23 | toward progressive |
| Political governance Democratic ↔ Autocratic | 6 | strongly toward democratic |
| Equality and hierarchy Egalitarian ↔ Hierarchical | 15 | strongly toward egalitarian |
| Economic management Free market ↔ State planning | 59 | near the center |
| Military intervention Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 14 | strongly toward non-intervention |
| Religion and government Secular state ↔ Religious authority | 17 | toward secular state |
These positions are estimates on the Atlas’s nine-dimension scale, produced by running the tradition’s core principles through the same questions and scoring used for test-takers. They are interpretations for comparison, not objective measurements. How scores are made.
Estimated positions on key questions
| Statement | Position | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| A national religious authority should have the power to veto legislation. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| People should be free to criticize the government without fear of legal punishment. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Opposition parties should be free to compete in elections. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Preserving a historic national majority is a legitimate immigration objective. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Society works best when established social hierarchies are respected. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Military power should be used proactively when serious external threats are emerging. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Central economic planning is preferable to decentralized market decisions. | Disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Same-sex couples should have the same right to marry as opposite-sex couples. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Major industries should be publicly owned rather than privately controlled. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Shared ancestry is an important component of national identity. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
Related ideologies
Main differences from the closest ideologies
- Compared with Platformism, Democratic Confederalism sits 9 points further toward market on the economic dimension.
- Compared with Syndicalism, Democratic Confederalism sits 11 points further toward nationalist on the national identity dimension.
- Compared with Communalism, Democratic Confederalism sits 15 points further toward nationalist on the national identity dimension.
Figures with the closest estimated positions
Closeness of estimated positions only; this does not mean these people identify with Democratic Confederalism.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Democratic confederalism
- Wikipedia: Democratic Confederalism (Wikipedia search)
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Federalism
Position last reviewed: not yet reviewed individually.