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Abstract

Kurds as the second largest ethnic groups in Iraq and Syria are the only nation in these two major-Arab countries that celebrate Newroz every year. However, as a minority community divided among different Middle Eastern countries, the arrival of the new year and the celebration of Newroz seem to have taken on a political significance beyond merely celebrating spring and the end of winter. This essay argues that Newroz has evolved from a cultural celebration into a strategic instrument of non-state cultural diplomacy used by Kurdish actors in Iraq and Syria to resist centralizing state power and project transnational identity. Focusing on the annual Newroz festival, this article will demonstrate how the Kurdish movement has used it for political organization, self-differentiation from majority Arab population, and cultural diplomacy. Kurdish cultural diplomacy represents a significant, yet underexamined example of how emerging non-state actors have redefined center-periphery dynamics in contemporary Iraq and Syria, expanding the practice of cultural diplomacy beyond its traditional confines in Baghdad and Damascus.

Based on empirical cases of Newroz festivals, the concept of festival diplomacy or ceremony diplomacy has been proposed as public but limited form of cultural diplomacy that focuses on specific historical festivals or ceremonies to promote relations with key international actors (including both states and non-state actors) in order to advance collective interests. Using historical analysis, this study will first explore certain narratives and messages that have been promoted and conveyed in Kurdish Newroz festivals. These narratives and messages help expressing a collective form of resistance and establish a transborder sense of belonging. The legacy of Newroz has inspired a kind of regional resistance network under the condition that the Kurdish movement faces a regional network of oppression. In the absence of a comprehensive study on the legacy of Newroz for Kurdish regional resistance in the Middle East, this article demonstrates the cultural and political dynamism of the Newroz festival's resurgence among the Kurdish minority in Iraq and Syria in recent years, and sheds light on minority politics in these countries.

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