The Spirit of the Spiritless Situation: the Significance of Rojava as an Alternative Model of Political Development in the Context of the Middle East Anahita Hosseini Keywords: Rojava, Alain Badiou, Being and Event, Middle East, Kurdish Politics, ISIS Abstract In the aftermath of the on-going crisis in Syria, Rojava (West Kurdistan) has morphed into a de facto autonomous region. While this region has mainly gained international recognition for its unexpected yet daring resistance to the brutal forces of the so-called Islamic State in Syria, there is actually much more to Rojava than the heroic fighting of a few Kurdish barricades in the debris of the cities and villages of Northern Syria. By refusing to give into the dominant narratives of separatism and – most significantly – top-down state building, Rojava is in fact seeking to establish an alternative social model in a number of respects. Despite (or even because) of this, Rojava has not received the appreciation that it deserves in academic circles or in the media. This article aims to explore some of Rojava‟s socio-political features. The first half explains the theoretical and historical background to Rojava‟s social-political foundations. The second half attempts to study Rojava from a philosophical perspective, using French philosopher Alain Badiou‟s concepts of „Event‟ and „fidelity to the Event‟. As a Badiousian Event, Rojava has been a significant historical occurrence which brings the formerly unseen or concealed part of the society to the surface. It represents a universal „truth‟ and shows the way for an „alternative‟. Consequently, it instigates „fidelity to the Event‟ – inspiring people from beyond its borders to support and defend it. It subsequently boldly declares that it is seeking to establish an „alternative‟ and has actually started the process: it refuses to postpone the enactment of this process until the war is over. In its concluding thoughts, the article outlines some of the obstacles to Rojava‟s flourishing as an alternative model for society. Introduction The recent history of the Middle East has been a bloody one, even by Middle Eastern standards. With foreign interventions on the one hand, and totalitarianism and local dictatorships of various types on the other, the future of the region seems more nebulous than ever. This is especially the case in light of the mass uprisings in the Arab countries in 2011, which initially inspired so much hope but, as time drew on, those who had eagerly embraced these events under the rubric of the “Arab Spring” started talking instead of the Arab “Fall” and “Winter”. With the exception of Tunisia, after the initial phase of hope and excitement had passed, most of the countries that underwent fundamental change during the uprisings were either plunged into chaos or have returned to the status quo ante (or worse). In Libya, for example, foreign intervention, warring tribes and competing militant fundamentalists such as the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) are destroying all that remains of the country‟s infrastructures. In Egypt, the former military regime has been able to roll back the gains of the uprisings and in some respects exhibits even more authoritarian traits than before 2011.