Theorizing Power in Community Economies: A Women's Cooperative in Northern Kurdistan

Abstract

Under the Democratic Autonomy project, Turkey's Kurdish Movement has pursued self-governance since the mid-2000s and promoted cooperatives and communal modes of production across Northern Kurdistan. Drawing upon the engagement of diverse and community economies studies with assemblage thinking, this article utilizes assemblage thinking to expand our understanding of power dynamics in community economies, and to reveal the power-led processes involved in building and maintaining community economies. The article focuses on the case of a women's cooperative spearheaded by the Kurdish Movement, which managed to circumvent state oppression and stay in business, despite the turmoil that erupted in Northern Kurdistan after the collapse of peace negotiations between the Turkish state and the Kurdish Movement in 2015.