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Image warfare in the war on terror: Image munitions and the continuation of war and politics by other means. / Nathan Philip Roger

Swansea University Author: Nathan Philip Roger

Abstract

This thesis argues that the image as circulated within society has changed from what is broadly conceived of as a mass media society to that of an information society or a rhizomatic condition. This discontinuity is linked to changes that have taken place both within technology and the 'communi...

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Published: 2010
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Doctoral
Degree name: Ph.D
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa42350
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last_indexed 2018-08-03T10:09:55Z
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spelling 2018-08-02T16:24:28.9321901 v2 42350 2018-08-02 Image warfare in the war on terror: Image munitions and the continuation of war and politics by other means. 7580e3df70e0215dfc8f581dc91f51f7 NULL Nathan Philip Roger Nathan Philip Roger true true 2018-08-02 This thesis argues that the image as circulated within society has changed from what is broadly conceived of as a mass media society to that of an information society or a rhizomatic condition. This discontinuity is linked to changes that have taken place both within technology and the 'communications systems' that make up the media. This is theorized as a move from the 'mobilization of images' to the 'weaponization of images' and it takes the following form: the mobilization of images is connected to a twentieth century notion of propaganda and the rise of a mass society; whereas the weaponizing of images is understood as emerging through a networked/rhizomatic society connected with new media. It has also resulted in a paradigm shift from techno-war to image warfare. More specifically, this thesis is about exploring how American and British governments and militaries are failing to manage image warfare because they are operating with an outdated understanding that it is possible to 'control' images; whereas Al Qaeda appears to be understanding image warfare better. What I seek to show in this thesis is the disjuncture between this outdated idea of 'controlling' images (which Western governments and media continue to use) and a more dispersed or deterritorialized idea about how images operate in a rhizomatic condition. I explore this via my three conceptual terms: 'image munitions', 'counter-image munitions', 'remediation battles', with specific reference to the war on terror and specifically through four thematic case studies - political communications, suicides, executions and abuses - which allow exploration of different parts of this new theatre of war. In the conclusion I reflect on the implications of this analysis for understandings of contemporary and future warfare. E-Thesis Mass communication.;Military studies. 31 12 2010 2010-12-31 COLLEGE NANME Political and Cultural Studies COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Doctoral Ph.D 2018-08-02T16:24:28.9321901 2018-08-02T16:24:28.9321901 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Culture and Communication - Politics, Philosophy and International Relations Nathan Philip Roger NULL 1 0042350-02082018162447.pdf 10798058.pdf 2018-08-02T16:24:47.5430000 Output 11671704 application/pdf E-Thesis true 2018-08-02T16:24:47.5430000 false
title Image warfare in the war on terror: Image munitions and the continuation of war and politics by other means.
spellingShingle Image warfare in the war on terror: Image munitions and the continuation of war and politics by other means.
Nathan Philip Roger
title_short Image warfare in the war on terror: Image munitions and the continuation of war and politics by other means.
title_full Image warfare in the war on terror: Image munitions and the continuation of war and politics by other means.
title_fullStr Image warfare in the war on terror: Image munitions and the continuation of war and politics by other means.
title_full_unstemmed Image warfare in the war on terror: Image munitions and the continuation of war and politics by other means.
title_sort Image warfare in the war on terror: Image munitions and the continuation of war and politics by other means.
author_id_str_mv 7580e3df70e0215dfc8f581dc91f51f7
author_id_fullname_str_mv 7580e3df70e0215dfc8f581dc91f51f7_***_Nathan Philip Roger
author Nathan Philip Roger
author2 Nathan Philip Roger
format E-Thesis
publishDate 2010
institution Swansea University
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Culture and Communication - Politics, Philosophy and International Relations{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Culture and Communication - Politics, Philosophy and International Relations
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description This thesis argues that the image as circulated within society has changed from what is broadly conceived of as a mass media society to that of an information society or a rhizomatic condition. This discontinuity is linked to changes that have taken place both within technology and the 'communications systems' that make up the media. This is theorized as a move from the 'mobilization of images' to the 'weaponization of images' and it takes the following form: the mobilization of images is connected to a twentieth century notion of propaganda and the rise of a mass society; whereas the weaponizing of images is understood as emerging through a networked/rhizomatic society connected with new media. It has also resulted in a paradigm shift from techno-war to image warfare. More specifically, this thesis is about exploring how American and British governments and militaries are failing to manage image warfare because they are operating with an outdated understanding that it is possible to 'control' images; whereas Al Qaeda appears to be understanding image warfare better. What I seek to show in this thesis is the disjuncture between this outdated idea of 'controlling' images (which Western governments and media continue to use) and a more dispersed or deterritorialized idea about how images operate in a rhizomatic condition. I explore this via my three conceptual terms: 'image munitions', 'counter-image munitions', 'remediation battles', with specific reference to the war on terror and specifically through four thematic case studies - political communications, suicides, executions and abuses - which allow exploration of different parts of this new theatre of war. In the conclusion I reflect on the implications of this analysis for understandings of contemporary and future warfare.
published_date 2010-12-31T04:31:47Z
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score 11.29607

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