Visual Discourse in Global Politics
Summary
Visual discourse in global politics explores how images, symbols and audiovisual media inform diplomatic practices, contest power and shape public perceptions of international events. It spans state‐sponsored iconography, crisis photography, corporate branding by security firms and grassroots visual activism. The field interrogates the semiotic processes through which visual artefacts—including photographs, logos, infographics and film—construct identities, frame threats and normalise specific policy agendas. By analysing modes of representation from United Nations peacekeeping missions to private military company emblems and digital camera outputs, scholars reveal how everyday visuality produces hierarchies of knowledge, legitimises interventions and mediates relations between ‘self’ and ‘other’. Interdisciplinary approaches draw on semiotics, ethnography and material politics to demonstrate that visual texts are not passive reflections but active agents in the making of world affairs. This research underscores the global significance of imagery in crisis management, public diplomacy and transnational social movements, and highlights practical applications for policymakers, communicators and civil society actors seeking to contest dominant narratives and promote more inclusive visual practices.
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Visual Discourse in Global Politics publication trend
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Technical terms
Visual discourse: The study of how images and visual media produce meaning, shape perceptions and influence social and political processes.
Semiotics: The analysis of signs and symbols, focusing on how meaning is created through visual and textual codes.
Framing: The process by which visual or narrative elements highlight certain aspects of an issue while marginalising others, guiding audience interpretation.
Iconography: The systematic use of imagery and symbolic motifs to convey particular ideas, identities or institutional affiliations.
References
- Everyday visuality and risk management: Representing (in)security in UN peacekeeping. Contemporary Security Policy (2020).
- Private military and security companies’ logos: Between camouflaging and corporate socialization. Security Dialogue (2020).
- The security captor, captured. Digital cameras, visual politics and material semiotics. Critical Studies on Security (2020).
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