It’s also gained the admiration of the Western left for its secular political system. Known as Democratic Confederalism, it’s a libertarian socialist political system developed by Öcalan that’s based on the ideas of American anarchist and ecologist Murray Bookchin. At heart, Rojava’s utopian status comes from its rise out of the ashes of a patriarchal and honor-based society to one rooted instead in gender equality, democratic socialism, and environmental sustainability amid conflict.