Politics, policy-making and the presence of images of suffering children
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4034020 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Helen Berents (0000-0003-1331-3308, Queensland University of Technology, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 96 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 593-608 |
| Publication date | 2020-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-5850 • E-ISSN: 1468-2346 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/ia/iiz275 |
| OpenAlex | W3023945110 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 21 |
| References cited | 10 |
In 2017 Trump expressed pity for the 'beautiful babies' killed in a gas attack on Khan Shaykhun in Syria before launching airstrikes against President Assad's regime. Images of suffering children in world politics are often used as a synecdoche for a broader conflict or disaster. Injured, suffering, or dead; the ways in which images of children circulate in global public discourse must be critically examined to uncover the assumptions that operate in these environments. This article explores reactions to images of children by representatives and leaders of states to trace the interconnected affective and political dimensions of these images. In contrast to attending to the expected empathetic responses prompted by images of children, this article particularly focuses on when such images prompt bellicose foreign policy decision-making. In doing this, the article forwards a way of thinking about images as contentious affective objects in international relations. The ways in which images of children's bodies and suffering are strategically deployed by politicians deserves closer scrutiny to uncover the visual politics of childhood inherent in these moments of international politics and policy-making
Foreign policy · Pity · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Scrutiny · Sociology · Children's Rights and Participation · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Law · Participatory Visual Research Methods · Psychology · Social Psychology
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The Adult Gaze
Disciplinary Seriousness in International Relations
Eating Identity
Family, country, and conditional humanity
Children & Migration
Exploring the Lives of Children Born of Conflict‐Related Sexual Violence Through Art
Mushrooms, cranes, and the fear of planetary destruction
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Not the Usual Suspects
Gendered icons and the war in Ukraine
Rights education and the children’s university
Childing war
How News of Parents’ Activism in Schools Frames Educational Possibilities
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Gothic visibilities and International Relations
The Boundaries of the Future
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Self-Legitimation as a Bureaucratic Tool
Children’s literature and/as political critique
The suffering child in today's media sphere
Mapping visual global politics
Emotion and intentionality
Photojournalism as political encounter
Human nature and the first image
Not suitable for children
Memetic protest and the dramatic diffusion of Alan Kurdi
Imaging Humanitarianism
Emotion and Strategy in the Korean War
Friendship Between States
Misanthropy Without Borders
| Unique citing works | 21 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 4,2 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2026 (6) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 20 |