Abstract
No-go zones are gray areas in conflict settings where state weakening is followed by the emergence of violent non-state actors (VNSAs). These groups not only expel state security forces from the area but gradually start to take on the functions of the state, such as provision of security, law enforcement, and providing basic goods and services. These no-go zones are coming into the focus of international scholarship, as wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and beyond generate substantially weakened states, which export instability around their immediate neighborhood. This paper focuses on two VNSAs operating in northern Syria, Islamic State (ISIS) and People’s Protection Units (YPG—in Rojava), to assess how they establish, run, and hold no-go zones. In doing so, this paper focuses on their territorial approach, propaganda, economic policy, and redistribution networks. Also, this paper compares and contrasts ISIS and YPG’s diverging views on optimizing taxation and production, along with a discussion of how territory and population size affects these policies.
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Ünver, H.A. (2018). Contested Geographies: How ISIS and YPG Rule “No-Go” Areas in Northern Syria. In: Oktav, Ö., Parlar Dal, E., Kurşun, A. (eds) Violent Non-state Actors and the Syrian Civil War. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67528-2_2
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