In order to be able to accurately interpret current events, conflicts and developments in Rojava and the Middle East, but also globally, it is necessary to name the phase in which the global political system finds itself, taking into account the historical dimension. The core characteristic of this development, which Abdullah Ocalan, initiator of the Kurdish freedom movement and the revolution in Rojava, describes as a third world war, are conflicts between hegemonic and regional powers for the expansion of influence. Different alliances are forged and break up depending on the hoped-for gains. Hegemonic powers support local proxy armies to enforce their interests and war is progressively legitimized as a means to enforce the interests of state actors. The third world war is as well, a war between these forces of power accumulation and the forces of the people and societies, struggling for a life on their land. These conflicts have different expressions and their difference in form as well as the attempt of the hegemonic regimes to defame them often make them hard to identify.
In this analysis we want to highlight events and processes that emerge around this frame. Starting with an overview on power-dynamics in the global scale, we are going to look closer at the war of culture as a means of the hegemonic powers to bring societies under their control, especially focusing on the Middle East. On this basis, we will more broadly analyze the different aspects of the war being waged in Kurdistan.