Postnational Utopia: An Analysis of Rojava's Disjuncted Mediation

Abstract

Media has been integral to not only drawing international support for Rojava, but creating associations that have transformed it from a territorial entity into a symbol for utopia. In my research, I first analyze how the official media published by the ruling party in the de facto Autonomous Federation of North and East Syria (Rojava) mobilizes traumatic transnational memories to create local and transnational affect that interpellates recruits. Then I explore how such official narratives converge with international media and a cyberspace of transnational solidarity. Using elements of Rojava’s online existence as a case study, I seek to understand how traditional notions of national belonging are challenged or reinforced, how identity is negotiated, and how transnational solidarity is mobilized to create a post-national, virtual utopia that reproduces Rojava’s ruling party’s rhetoric while also arbitrating it.