Mohammed A. Salih

Syria’s Kurdish Northeast Ratifies a New Constitution

Amid the raging chaos in the region, a potentially significant yet little-noticed development unfolded in northeastern Syria in mid-December. The General Council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) formally ratified its constitution, intriguingly dubbed the Social Contract. The term, reminiscent of Rousseau's musings on a liberal society, bore an ironic twist as the AANES eschews liberal politics.