Spatial Cosmopolitanism under Strain: Indie Music Festivals amid Territorial Conflict

Abstract This article explores Israeli indie music festivals as sites for understanding contemporary cultural cosmopolitanism through a spatial lens. Drawing on ethnographic research, we conceptualize ‘spatial cosmopolitanism’ using the Möbius strip metaphor, highlighting the continuous folding of local and global spheres and the relational nature of boundaries. These dynamics are further complicated by recent escalations of violence in Israel and Palestine which underscore the tensions inherent in these spaces and challenge claims of perceived borderlessness amid an ongoing territorial conflict. Yet, rather than undermining our theoretical perspective, these conditions reveal how cosmopolitan practices are enacted within politically and territorially constrained environments. As we show, festival organisation is deeply rooted in the national ethos of pioneering, even as it draws on global models and connects organisers to international cultural networks. Revisiting ethnographic material demonstrates that spatial cosmopolitanism entails simultaneously engaging with and critically reflecting on local realities.