Rethinking Rebel Governance: Legitimacy and Democratic Rule in Civil War through the Case of Rojava
School: School of International Relations
Supervisors: Professor Adham Saouli, Dr Nicholas Barnes.
About Polat’s Research:
My PhD in International Relations examines political authority, self-government and legitimacy in Rojava and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria during the Syrian conflict. It investigates how institutions of self-government emerged, developed and adapted under conditions of civil war, territorial change and contested sovereignty, and what explains the durability and limits of autonomous political authority.
The research focuses particularly on the relationship between institution-building, political legitimacy, local participation and security. It examines how political authority was organised and justified, how institutions adapted as the territory and populations under their authority changed, and how political relationships varied across different local settings. It also considers how military pressures, economic constraints, international partnerships and changing relations with the Syrian state shaped the development and durability of self-government.
The project contributes to debates on rebel and wartime governance, non-state political authority, political legitimacy, self-government and state formation. Using qualitative research, it draws on documentary material, political discourse and semi-structured interviews, including sources in Kurdish, Arabic, Turkish and English.
More broadly, the research asks what the Rojava experience can contribute to understanding how political authority is built, adapted, sustained and constrained in conflict-affected societies.
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