by John Holloway
AK Press
7/15/2025, paperback
SKU: 9781849355667
The militants of Rojava, and the autonomous society they've built, teach us how to kindle hope for the tireless fight against oppression.
Drawing on three years living and working in Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan), journalist Matt Broomfield argues the militant Kurdish movement can help the Western left relearn its commitment to hope in hopeless times. The bloodshed and chaos of the Syrian Civil War have paradoxically produced our generation's most significant revolution. Firsthand observations from the heart of Rojava's movement inform Broomfield's critical engagement with its theory and practice and, inevitably, its compromises and contradictions. In the face of crises set to define the coming century--proxy conflict, resource competition, state collapse, climate catastrophe--the Kurdish movement has produced an unexpected, utopian response: an autonomous society organized outside of the nation-state, run by direct democracy and along feminist and ecological principles, surviving despite overwhelming military opposition.
The revolutionary movement of Rojava and its people shed light on struggle, strategy, and endurance--how and why to fight for revolution in the face of nearly impossible odds. Hope Without Hope carries on the long tradition of history, absurdist philosophy, and radical thought that has studied how anti-fascist and anti-colonial movements answer defeat and repression with a revolutionary faith in transformation. Only by understanding this history can we pursue the steadfast work of organizing for long-term revolutionary change in our seemingly hopeless age.
Reviews:
"A remarkable and necessary book analyzing the extraordinary yet little-known Rojava Revolution ... Broomfield offers a detailed explanation of both the 'democratic confederalism' of Rojava but also a thoughtful and carefully argued account of what it means for the democratic, economic, and social crisis of the West. Rojava offers a powerful and relevant example to us all. This rich and inspiring book explains why." --Carne Ross, author of Independent Diplomat: Despatches From An Unaccountable Elite
"Broomfield's deeply engaged investigation, enriched by personal experience, provides not only an inspiring view of the Kurdish liberation movement in Rojava but also a sober analysis of the daunting political, ideological, and military challenges it faces." --Michael Hardt, author of The Subversive Seventies
"Hope Without Hope blends Matt Broomfield's three years in Rojava with a deeply informed analysis of its Kurdish-led revolution ... Broomfield doesn't romanticize, though, but instead acknowledges the profound hardships faced by those who build and defend the revolution. This book smartly connects these experiences to urgent global crises, like climate disaster, authoritarianism and genocide. Where to find hope without hope? Rojava offers it, and profoundly so." --Fréderike Geerdink, author of This Fire Never Dies: One Year With the PKK
About the Author:
Matt Broomfield is a British journalist, poet, and organizer. From 2018 to 2020, he spent three years living and working in Rojava (North and East Syria), where he cofounded the Rojava Information Centre, the top independent, English-language news source connecting the Kurdish-led autonomous regions with the international press. His writing has appeared in the Independent, New Statesman, VICE, The Nation, and Jacobin, among others.