---
title: TEV-DEM (Movement for a Democratic Society)
type: governance
status: active
country: SY
logo: /assets/org-logos/tev-dem.png
summary: The civilian governance coordination body of the Autonomous Administration
  of North and East Syria (AANES/Rojava) — an umbrella of communal councils, civil
  society organisations, and professional bodies implementing democratic confederalism
  in an active conflict zone.
concepts:
- democratic-confederalism
location:
  latitude: 37.0527
  longitude: 41.227
  name: Qamishli, North and East Syria (AANES)
  precision: city
events:
- date: '2011-01-16'
  title: Founded as the Movement for a Democratic Society, the political coalition
    governing the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria
  url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movement_for_a_Democratic_Society
  quote: is a left-wing umbrella organization in northern Syria founded on 16 January
    2011
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-10'
  notable: true
activity:
  manual:
    checked: 2026-06-07
    date: 2026-02-21
    note: Website loaded at https://tev-dem.com/ . News is in front page. Latest is  Feb
      21, 2026 ' roja Zimanê Dayîk A Cîhanî li hemû gelan pîroz be û Hêviya me ye
      ku bibe roja vekirina dergihê azadiya gelên Sûriyayê û aramiya wan.'
    url: https://tev-dem.com/
  dod:
    checked: 2026-07-19
    date: 2026-02-21
    note: 'Website (tev-dem.com) live, publishing through Feb 2026. Updated context
      note: Jan 2026 Damascus offensive against SDF-held territory + Jan 30 2026 ceasefire/integration
      agreement is phasing AANES civil institutions into Syrian state structures —
      governance model description may not fully reflect current on-the-ground reality.'
    url: https://tev-dem.com/
last_checked: '2026-07-19'
---

> **Note on context:** AANES is not internationally recognised as a state. Following a January 2026 Syrian government offensive against SDF-held territory and a January 30, 2026 ceasefire/integration agreement with Damascus, AANES's autonomous civil institutions are being phased into national state structures, with Kurdish political autonomy narrowed from territorial control toward local administrative and cultural guarantees. TEV-DEM's website remains active as of February 2026, and the commune-council structure described below reflects the model as documented prior to integration — it may not fully describe current on-the-ground governance. TEV-DEM is the civilian governance arm — distinct from the military structures (YPG/YPJ/SDF). It is included here because the governance design it implements is one of the most extensively documented non-statist democratic experiments in the region.

The Movement for a Democratic Society (Tevgera Demokratîk a Civakê, TEV-DEM) is the civilian coordination body for the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. Established in the early years of the Syrian conflict, TEV-DEM functions as an umbrella organisation connecting commune councils, district councils, professional organisations, cultural bodies, and civil society groups operating under the AANES governance framework.

The AANES governance model is based on **democratic confederalism** — a theory developed by Abdullah Öcalan drawing on Murray Bookchin's libertarian municipalism. The core structure is nested councils from the commune level (roughly 30–400 households) upward, with decisions made at the lowest viable level. Every governance body mandates gender co-leadership: positions are held jointly by one man and one woman.

TEV-DEM coordinates across the three main cantons of Jazira, Kobani, and Afrin (the last now under Turkish military control), and the broader AANES territory. It works alongside [Kongra Star](kongreya-star.md), the women's governance structure that maintains parallel institutions at every level.

## Governance structure

- **Commune councils** — base unit of governance; neighbourhood-level deliberative bodies
- **District and canton councils** — aggregate commune decisions upward
- **Mandatory co-presidency** — all leadership positions held jointly by a man and a woman
- **Ethnic representation** — Kurdish, Arab, Syriac, and other communities hold representation quotas at all levels
- **Social contract** — the AANES Social Contract (2014, revised 2023) is the governing document; explicitly non-statist and pluralist

## Academic study

The governance structures of AANES have been studied by researchers including Joost Jongerden (Wageningen University), Thomas Jeffrey Miley (Cambridge), and Michael Knapp. The model has been cited as a significant contemporary experiment in municipal democratic governance.

## See also

- [Kongra Star](kongreya-star.md)
- [Democratic Confederalism](../concepts/democratic-confederalism.md)