Recent from talks
Federalization of Syria
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Federalization of Syria
Proposals for the federalization of Syria were made early during the Syrian Civil War, were implemented in the mostly Kurdish north and east regions of Syria, and a federalized or decentralised structure was called for by groups in several parts of Syria in 2025.
The Rojava conflict led to Kurdish-dominated regions becoming a self-governing federation, Rojava, with a constitution written in 2014, and revised in 2016 and 2023, each time stating that Rojava (Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, DAANES, in the 2023 version) was part of the Syrian state. As of 2016, there was little support for federalization outside of Rojava.
Following the late 2024 fall of the Assad regime, Rojava started negotiations with the Syrian transitional government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa on integration of Rojava with the rest of Syrian state structures, with an eight-point agreement signed on 10 March 2025 and continued intentions for a decentralised national structure as of late August 2025. In late August 2025, Hikmat al-Hijri called for an autonomous Druze region in the Suwayda Governorate in southern Syria and Alawite groups created the Political Council for Central and Western Syria (PCCWS) that explicitly called for a secular, federalised structure for Syria.
Federalisation was proposed during the Syrian Civil War as a way of ending the war. In the broadest sense, it means turning the centralized Syria into a federal republic with autonomous subdivisions. Many powers and actors involved in the Syrian Civil War have entertained the idea of "federal division", not least among them Russia, United Nations representatives, the United States and Israel. Bashar al-Assad during his rule had publicly rejected the idea of federalism, asserting that the Arab majority in Syria is opposed to such proposals. Most of the neighbouring countries in the region have also dismissed the proposal, including the members of the Arab League and Turkey.
Since federalization could more or less follow ethnic and possibly also religious-sectarian lines, it was dismissed as "division of the country" and "Balkanization" by its opponents. While Assad remained in power, most factions of the Syrian opposition, such as the Syrian National Council and the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, consistently rejected the idea of federalization. On the other hand, Kurdish opposition parties strongly promoted the idea. The Egypt-based opposition party Syria's Tomorrow Movement takes an intermediate position.
On 17 March 2016, representatives of the regions of north and east Syria, which had been autonomous cantons since 2014, following the Rojava conflict, declared the region to be a federation of autonomous cantons modelled after the cantons of Switzerland; Afrin Canton, Jazira Canton and Kobanî Canton, as well as the Shahba region. The federation (also called Rojava) is considered by its protagonists to be a model for Syria as a whole. Rojava representatives negotiated successive versions of the region's constitution in 2014, 2016, and 2023, with each version stating that Rojava was part of the Syrian state. The 2023 version named the region's governing system to be the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES).
In 2016, Rojava's federalisation was dismissed by the Syrian government and disapproved of by Turkey and the United States.
In September 2016, the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, came out in an interview as one of the first regional politicians taking a public stand for the federalization of Syria. He said that the establishment of a federal system in Syria would "guarantee to preserve the institutions and unity" and that a federal system would be "the most appropriate solution and will protect the country from destruction."
Hub AI
Federalization of Syria AI simulator
(@Federalization of Syria_simulator)
Federalization of Syria
Proposals for the federalization of Syria were made early during the Syrian Civil War, were implemented in the mostly Kurdish north and east regions of Syria, and a federalized or decentralised structure was called for by groups in several parts of Syria in 2025.
The Rojava conflict led to Kurdish-dominated regions becoming a self-governing federation, Rojava, with a constitution written in 2014, and revised in 2016 and 2023, each time stating that Rojava (Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, DAANES, in the 2023 version) was part of the Syrian state. As of 2016, there was little support for federalization outside of Rojava.
Following the late 2024 fall of the Assad regime, Rojava started negotiations with the Syrian transitional government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa on integration of Rojava with the rest of Syrian state structures, with an eight-point agreement signed on 10 March 2025 and continued intentions for a decentralised national structure as of late August 2025. In late August 2025, Hikmat al-Hijri called for an autonomous Druze region in the Suwayda Governorate in southern Syria and Alawite groups created the Political Council for Central and Western Syria (PCCWS) that explicitly called for a secular, federalised structure for Syria.
Federalisation was proposed during the Syrian Civil War as a way of ending the war. In the broadest sense, it means turning the centralized Syria into a federal republic with autonomous subdivisions. Many powers and actors involved in the Syrian Civil War have entertained the idea of "federal division", not least among them Russia, United Nations representatives, the United States and Israel. Bashar al-Assad during his rule had publicly rejected the idea of federalism, asserting that the Arab majority in Syria is opposed to such proposals. Most of the neighbouring countries in the region have also dismissed the proposal, including the members of the Arab League and Turkey.
Since federalization could more or less follow ethnic and possibly also religious-sectarian lines, it was dismissed as "division of the country" and "Balkanization" by its opponents. While Assad remained in power, most factions of the Syrian opposition, such as the Syrian National Council and the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, consistently rejected the idea of federalization. On the other hand, Kurdish opposition parties strongly promoted the idea. The Egypt-based opposition party Syria's Tomorrow Movement takes an intermediate position.
On 17 March 2016, representatives of the regions of north and east Syria, which had been autonomous cantons since 2014, following the Rojava conflict, declared the region to be a federation of autonomous cantons modelled after the cantons of Switzerland; Afrin Canton, Jazira Canton and Kobanî Canton, as well as the Shahba region. The federation (also called Rojava) is considered by its protagonists to be a model for Syria as a whole. Rojava representatives negotiated successive versions of the region's constitution in 2014, 2016, and 2023, with each version stating that Rojava was part of the Syrian state. The 2023 version named the region's governing system to be the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES).
In 2016, Rojava's federalisation was dismissed by the Syrian government and disapproved of by Turkey and the United States.
In September 2016, the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, came out in an interview as one of the first regional politicians taking a public stand for the federalization of Syria. He said that the establishment of a federal system in Syria would "guarantee to preserve the institutions and unity" and that a federal system would be "the most appropriate solution and will protect the country from destruction."
Recent media