The boy on the beach
Shifts in US policy discourses on Syrian asylum following the death of Alan Kurdi
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11267321 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kelsey Oliver Imanishi (0000-0001-8293-7785, The University of Osaka, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 882-902 |
| Publication date | 2022-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Media Culture & Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0163-4437 • E-ISSN: 1460-3675 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/01634437211069965 |
| OpenAlex | W4220785320 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 22 |
The impact of iconic imagery on policymaking during humanitarian crises is oft-discussed within the literature. When rapid humanitarianization or sudden policy shifts emerge, researchers seek to identify why. One potential explanation is that of ‘focusing events’ – sudden, harmful events which destabilize political consensuses and elevate marginal agendas. While focusing events have been used to explain the impact of large-scale accidents and disasters, this paper extends their usage to activist-generated events such as the iconization of images of the drowned Syrian toddler, Alan Kurdi, during the 2015 migrant crisis. In exploring the Kurdi images’ impact on US media and political discourses of asylum, this paper finds that asylum-related discourses became increasingly sympathetic and domestically focused, eventually culminating in the announcement of an increase in resettlement targets for Syrian migrants. By expanding conceptualizations of focusing events to cases such as Kurdi’s, this paper supplements understandings of the agenda-setting function of iconic imagery
Criminology · Development economics · Developmental psychology · Economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Toddler · Global Security and Public Health · History · Law · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts · Psychology · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence
Debating War and Peace
Making the News
Iconic photographs and the ebb and flow of empathic response to humanitarian disasters
Agendas, alternatives, and public policies
When the Press Fails
Narratives of the Refugee Crisis
Images of Immigrants and Refugees
Japanese foreign disaster assistance
A horrific photo of a drowned Syrian child”
Humanitarian crises and U.S. foreign policy
Memetic protest and the dramatic diffusion of Alan Kurdi
Projections of Power
Constructing, confirming, and contesting icons
Illegal,” “Undocumented,” or “Unauthorized
Focusing Events, Mobilization, and Agenda Setting
Framing Immigration in the Canadian and British News Media
Contextualizing the Crisis
Images, emotions, and international politics
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,5 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2025 (4) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |