Synopses & Reviews
Image Warfare in the War on Terror provides an innovative re-examination of the war on terror. It argues that since 11 September 2001 image warfare has replaced techno-war as the dominant warfighting model. Roger suggests that it is a form of warfare in which Al Qaeda currently dominates while the West is still playing catch-up. By dealing frankly with the deployment of disturbing images generated by the 9/11 attacks - from bin Laden videos, suicide terrorism and hostage executions to prisoner abuses, Roger provides us with a new vocabulary through which these acts can be discussed and understood.
This book offers the first comprehensive assessment, from an International Relations perspective, of image warfare. Through engagement with IR, Media Studies and Visual Culture literatures, Roger introduces three new conceptual terms 'image munitions', 'counter-image munitions' and 'remediation battles'. These terms are then explored in chapters about political communications concerning Bush, Blair and bin Laden; suicides; executions and abuses.
Review
Nathan Roger offers a conceptually sophisticated and empirically rich exploration of the significance of images within contemporary warfare. Not only does he encourage us to rethink the place and importance of video-wills, Abu Ghraib photographs and other 'image munitions' in the war on terrorism, he also provides us with a new theoretical vocabulary for their analysis.
Image Warfare in the War on Terror will be essential reading for students of International Relations, Security Studies, Media Studies and beyond.
- Dr Lee Jarvis, Specialist in International Relations and Terrorism, Swansea University, UK.
Image Warfare in the War on Terror is an important book that introduces key concepts and ideas from Visual Culture to the traditional concerns of Strategic Studies and International Relations. It stages this conversation against the backdrop of the War on Terror and shows how images work in relation to military strategy and foreign policy.
- Debbie Lisle, Senior Lecturer in International Relations and Cultural Studies, Queen's University Belfast, UK.
Synopsis
Roger examines how developments in new media technologies, such as the internet, blogs, camera/video phones, have fundamentally altered the way in which governments, militaries, terrorists, NGOs, and citizens engage with images. He argues that there has been a paradigm shift from techno-war to image warfare, which emerged on 9/11.
About the Author
Nathan Roger is an Honorary Research Associate in the Research Institute for Arts and Humanities (RIAH) at Swansea University, UK. He is an Editorial Assistant for The Journal of War and Culture Studies and an Editorial Review Board member for the e-journal The Journal of International Relations Research.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction
Theorizing Image Warfare
Political Communications: Bush, Blair and bin Laden
Suicides
Executions
Abuses
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography