This article examines the case of the Syrian Democratic Union Party (Partiya Yekîtiya Demokrat or PYD) to explain the survival strategies of the non-state armed actor (NSAA). Although the Middle Eastern State System remarkably remained stable after the end of Mandates, the legitimacy of states has been eroded by a combination of colonial legacy, neo-patrimonialism, and authoritarianism, laying the seeds for the rise of non-state challengers to states. At the beginning of the Syrian uprising, the PYD did not fight against the Syrian regime but established its autonomy in northern Syria by taking advantage of the chaos. Using the process-tracing method, the article explains the survival of the PYD until the territorial defeat of the so-called Islamic State and offers parameters of the territorial logic, its organizational structuring, and relations with the states to explain the survival strategies of the PYD. Finally, the study concludes that while the territorial and organizational structuring logics of the NSAA shape its strategies, its complex relationship with states determines its survival.

本文通过考察叙利亚民主联盟党（Partiya Yekîtiya Demokrat 或 PYD）的案例来解释非国家武装行动者（NSAA）的生存策略。尽管托管结束后中东国家体系显着保持稳定，但国家的合法性已被殖民遗产、新世袭制和威权主义侵蚀，为非国家挑战者的崛起埋下了种子。叙利亚起义之初，PYD并没有与叙利亚政权作战，而是趁乱在叙利亚北部建立了自治权。使用过程追踪方法，文章解释了 PYD 的生存直到所谓的伊斯兰国的领土失败，并提供了领土逻辑的参数，其组织结构，以及与国家的关系来解释 PYD 的生存策略。最后，该研究得出结论，虽然 NSAA 的领土和组织结构逻辑塑造了其战略，但它与国家的复杂关系决定了它的生存。