Abolition and the State: Responses Vol. 3
A View From Beyond the State
By Nazan Üstündağ
This is the third ‘zine in a series responding to or engaging with questions relating to the role of the state in abolitionist futures. While previous ‘zines in the series have been organized around the questions posed in Interrupting Criminalization’s Abolition and the State: A Discussion Tool, this ‘zine features a lightly edited transcript of a presentation given by academic, activist, and writer Nazan Üstündağ exploring the role of transformative justice in resistance to an occupying state and the insights this perspective can offer to abolitionist engagements with the state around the world.
The presentation was given by Nazan during the Practicing for An Abolitionist World: A Virtual Transnational Gathering for Transformative Justice, Restorative Justice, and and Community Accountability Practitioners hosted by Interrupting Criminalization, Project NIA, Just Practice Collaborative, and Spring Up in May 2023.
In this piece, Nazan addresses themes introduced in the Abolition and the State Discussion Tool by exploring how Kurdish communities have addressed the necessity of building beyond the state to shift systems and structures of power while promoting community autonomy, self-determination, and women’s liberation in the context of resisting occupation. In so doing, she surfaces the challenges of advancing transformative justice strategies while simultaneously resisting attacks by the state and Right-wing armed forces, offering critical insights for abolitionist engagements with the state around the world.
Check out the other ‘zines in this series:
