Florian Couveinhes Matsumoto & Nathalie Clarenc Bicudo eds. Le Rojava démocratique et le droit

After the fall of Bashar al-Assad on December 8, 2024, the autonomous region of northeastern Syria, inhabited by a mosaic of communities and the majority of the country’s Kurdish population, was plunged into uncertainty. Since 2013, this region has been governed by the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), better known as Rojava, following an original model of decentralized democracy, so-called “democratic confederalism.” The ideology is enshrined in its “Social Contract,” initially adopted in 2014,1 and subsequently revised in 20162 and 2023.3 The Syrian civil war, which had lasted for nearly fourteen years, created opportunities for Kurdish forces, and the support provided by Western countries, notably the United States, enabled them to establish a self-administration, or proto-state. The People’s Protection Units (YPG), along with the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), have become known internationally for their efforts in combating the Islamic State. However, after the fall of Assad’s regime, the northeastern region’s de facto autonomy and political system were threatened by the regime change and ongoing fighting.4