Image Politics: The New Rhetoric of Environmental Activism

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Human culture is a visual culture. From cave paintings to selfies, we have always used images to tell stories about our lives, experiences and understanding of the world.

Feldman, L.Gardner. 2012. Germany’s policy of reconciliation: From enmity to amity. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.This is a problem, because images tap into a fundamental element of human reasoning. They have a resonant power to stir strong emotions – of fear, dislike, love, hate, and everything in between. Widely shared footage of the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi led to the first protests in Tunisia and the eventual fall of the Ben Ali regime. German National Tourist Board. 2008. The 2006 FIFA World Cup and its effect on the image and economy of Germany. Frankfurt: GNTB. Auswärtiges Amt. 2014a. http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/DE/AAmt/ZuGastimAA/Besucherprogramm-node.html (1 July 2015). Wednesday: Using Images in Research on Immigration Detention: Tensions and Challenges [link to follow] (F. Esposito) Solomon, T. 2014. The affective underpinnings of soft power. European Journal of International Relations 20 (3): 720–741.

Wood, S. 1999. Culture, commerce, and foreign policy: German eastern interests and domestic contexts juxtaposed. German Politics and Society 17 (2): 55–85. PEW. 2014. Global opposition to U.S. surveillance and drones, but limited harm to America’s Image, July. See Chapter 4 ‘How Asians View Each Other’. http://www.pewglobal.org/2014/07/14/global-opposition-to-u-s-surveillance-and-drones-but-limited-harm-toamericas-image/. Cull, N. 2008. Public diplomacy: Taxonomies and history. Annals of the American Academy of Political Science 616 (1): 31–53. But while such tactics can mobilize supporters, manage impressions, and amplify political messages, it also means political campaigns become more superficial. The question is whether citizens are more manipulated as the visual vocabularies of election candidates further emotionalize political communication. Engl, C. 2015. Deutschlands Marken-Image ruiniert. Super-Gau bei VW: Was ist Made in Germany jetzt noch wert? Focus Online, 29 September.Hoffmann, H., and K.-J. Maaß (eds.). 1994. Freunde oder Fratze? Das Bild von Deutschland in der Welt und die Aufgaben der Kulturpolitik. Frankfurt: Campus.

Such processes are not isolated to campaigns of course. Political leaders use visual communication to shape their public image, and subtle differences in visual representation can have significant effects on their public perceptions.

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Now, Professor Callahan is exploring the imagery around wearing masks. Often seen as problematic before the pandemic, as they were viewed as concealing something, masks now have more of a positive association with public health campaigns. BDB (Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels). 1996. Kultur, Kommerz und Aussenpolitik – Ungewohnte Perspektiven, neue Kooperation. Frankfurt: BDB. WDA (Weltverband Deutscher Auslandsschulen). 2014. Wertvoll für die Welt. Wertvoll für Deutschland. Berlin: WDA. This is an excellent book, very original and elegantly written. Chiara Bottici's contribution to the field of politics is an original one, since, even though there exist other theories about the social imaginary, Bottici's is pivotal in allowing us to understand contemporary politics and its paradoxes. It is a great addition to the field of academic discussions about politics, religion, imagination, and conceptual history. María Pía Lara, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Keppler, D. 2015. Mehr als tweets, likes and hashtags?. Digitale Partizipation in der Auswärtigen Kultur- und Bildungspolitik Stuttgart: Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen.