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in response to Miss Sakinah Salleh points of View...

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in response to Miss Sakinah Salleh points of View...

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i would rather take the situation of Iraq war, as a way of how realist pursuing their objectives through ideology and sentiment. As some people would viewed that President Bush as liberalism thinker engaged war for the sake of human rights and democracy (qouted from the video of Prof.Randall). In my opinion, it just only a tools of supporting their rhetoric war for peace. i would rather see this as a soft power used to manipulate and spread own values to the rest of the world. Therefore war can be justified. The main reason is because the security dilemma and also the need for natural resources. And as what Miss Sakinah says, there is no any weapon of nuclear mass destruction in Iraq.
~P94723~

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Professor Roland Bleiker on Visual Politics

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Professor Roland Bleiker on Visual Politics

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Saya bersetuju dengan pendapat Prof Bleiker berkenaan dengan alat visual seperti filem, televisyen dan gambar mempengaruhi cara manusia menilai fenomena seperti peperangan, keganasan, krisis kemanusiaan dan kempen pilihan raya serta kecenderungan golongan muda pada zaman sekarang yang memilih akses kepada media sosial sebagai sumber maklumat utama tentang perkara yang berlaku di peringkat global.

Manusia cenderung untuk menilai sesuatu peristiwa yang dilihat melalui visual berdasarkan pemahaman sendiri. Selain itu, emosi turut memainkan peranan terhadap penilaian individu berhubung sesuatu isu yang berlaku serta tindakan yang dilakukan selepas itu turut dipengaruhi oleh emosi yang digambarkan tersebut. Contohnya seperti kejadian tsunami yang berlaku pada tahun 2014. Banyak pihak sama ada dari negara lain, organisasi atau orang perseorangan banyak menyalurkan sumbangan berbentuk wang ringgit kerana emosi mereka terkesan dengan gambar-gambar bencana tsunami yang dipaparkan dan kemusnahan yang berlaku kesan daripada bencana tersebut.

Emosi dan psikologi turut memainkan peranan dalam hubungan antarabangsa namun seringkali diabaikan kerana kesukaran untuk mengukur tahap emosi yang rasional berbanding kecenderungan untuk memberi persepsi yang salah. Walau bagaimanapun, hal ini kemungkinan boleh ditangani melalui kerjasama di antara pelbagai bidang ilmu untuk menganalisis apa yang dialami seseorang individu dan proses kepada emosi tersebut contohnya dengan menggabungkan kaedah Sosial Sains dan Sains. Penjelasan bagaimana emosi individu berkait rapat dengan pengetahuan struktur sosial dan kepercayaan boleh meningkatkan keupayaan individu untuk memahami motif dan tingkah laku sesebuah negara dan aktor-aktor lain yang memainkan peranan penting dalam dunia politik antarabangsa (Bleiker & Hutchison 2007).

Oleh yang demikian, pada pandangan saya elemen emosi sebenarnya telah lama diterapkan dalam penilaian hubungan antarabangsa namun kewujudannya tidak dipaparkan sebagai sesuatu yang nyata bagi mengelakkan sesebuah negara atau aktor lain kelihatan kejam atau lemah. Contohnya semasa Jerman di bawah pemerintahan Hitler. Walaupun Hitler pada ketika itu merupakan seorang yang kejam kerana terlibat dalam agenda pembunuhan beramai-ramai (The Holocaust). Namun apa yang dilakukan pada ketika itu adalah dengan menerapkan sentimen dalam kalangan rakyatnya dengan mempamerkan bahawa bangsa Aryan merupakan sebuah bangsa yang hebat dan bangsa Jews adalah kelompok yang lemah dan perlu dihapuskan. Propaganda yang digunakan pada ketika itu sangat hebat sehingga berjaya mempengaruhi rakyat Jerman. Namun, masyarakat dunia pada ketika itu menilai perkara yang berlainan apabila melihat gambar-gambar di concentration camps. Masyarakat dunia mengutuk perbuatan tersebut yang dilihat sebagai pembunuhan beramai-ramai yang sangat kejam yang melampaui aspek kemanusiaan.

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First of all, I would like to point out some of Prof. Schweller said in the video, "And liberals world actually say that the only just war is one that promotes human rights, whereas a realist would say the only just war is one that promotes the national interest." This is actually happened in Iraq War in 2003, President Bush and his advisors built much of their case for war on the idea that Iraq under dictator Saddam Hussein, possessed or was in the process of building weapons of mass destruction. On November 6, 2006, Saddam Hussein was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging. After an unsuccessful appeal, he was executed on December 30, 2006. No weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/war-in-iraq-begins). In addition, Prof. Schweller said since the end of Cold War, US have been all about promoting democracy and human rights, that actually US wanted to initiate a democratic transformation of the entire Middle East. (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/sep/29/realisminiraq)

*Thank you Dr. Hoo for sharing the video, so that, I can understand more on realism.

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I have to agree with Kana on Prof. Schweller, he is well known as a neoclassical realist and famous for his theory of “balance of interests”. Prof. Schweller argues that states regularly underestimated dangers to their survival by underbalancing it, which means the failure on states to recognise a clear and present danger, or their underreaction to it. Schweller considers that domestic politics is the answer to why states behave in this way, why they underbalance a danger. According to him,  the underbalancing behaviour of the states towards external threat is factored by elite consensus, elite cohesion, regime legitimacy, and social cohesion. Thus, he underline the importance of domestic politics in formulating foreign policies.

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Prof. Bleiker's View on Visual and Emotions in World Politics

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Prof. Bleiker's View on Visual and Emotions in World Politics

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Point taken from Prof. Bleiker’s writing, emotions play a significant role in world politics, shaping how individuals and collectives are socialized and interact with each other. Images of war and violence, natural disasters and human tragedies travel easily and often receive the attention and solidarity of a global audience. People expressed their compassion with those who have greater misfortunes in life, constructing a kind of transnational solidarity.

For instance, the fate of refugees, represented by a photograph of a dead Syrian boy,  Alan Kurdi moved many people around the world. It created a fugitive public sphere where refugees became recognized as vulnerable subjects. Images depicting moments of distress and misery can be both, powerful in the sense that they raise awareness and provoke emotional responses, and the suffering of others. Emotions and images might be a crucial, yet ambivalent bond that connects us across space and time.

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Re. Prof. Bleiker's View on Visual and Emotion in World Politics

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Re. Prof. Bleiker's View on Visual and Emotion in World Politics

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I agree with Prof. Bleiker’s view that in the age of technology, we tend to perceive and deal with political phenomena as diverse as any other global issues. Just a matter of seconds, we can access to the easily-available online sources and media, influencing our perception and emotion towards certain topics. Disturbingly, majority of the online users are youths and they lack the knowledge about the challenges and impact of this phenomenon. As such, I look forward to Prof. Bleiker’s finding on the research project which aimed at addressing the gap in visual and emotions in international politics.

On a related note, I think the use of online visual and emotions in politics particularly via Twitter, Facebook and YouTube has dramatically changed the way election campaigns are run and how voters interact with their elected officials vice versa. This shows that the prevalence of socmed (including visual and expression of emotions) has also become one of the determinant factors in politics and general elections.

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Seeing is believing... Visual of politics

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Seeing is believing... Visual of politics

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well this is really new for me. I actually think that all non physical approaches as reaction towards IR as soft power =). Apologized for my misconception.

Its true that we are living in the world that perceived things through images and visuals. For instance, the emergence of technology, drones, satellites and social media such as Facebook and the existence of dark web are the implication of rapid globalization that we are enjoying nowadays. From these images and visuals we get from technology, it therefore mold our perspective and understanding towards issues surrounding us. We tend to judge without understanding the fact or we tend to conclude the event on what perspective we prefer most. For instance the picture of Tienanmen tank man, 1989, portrayed a symbol of independence in China.

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Prof. Schweller’s definition of realism is more or less similar to what I understand and read to date. This theory revolves around power, status, sovereignty and security. Most importantly, realists believe that states are the central actors in international politics rather than individuals or organizations. Prof. Schweller’s assertion that realists disagree with interdependence does have a solid foundation in this context. This is due to the fact that realists are unconvinced over dependencies on other friendly countries that could possibly be future enemies, especially in this time of uncertainty.

Also, I am of the same opinion with Komathi that Prof. Schweller’s Balance of Interest theory provides a better explanation of bandwagoning as compared to Waltz’s balancing theory (Balance of Threats). In addition, I agree with Prof. Schweller’s principle that conflicts of interests between nations are determined based on the balance of interests between them. Balancing interests have indeed become an important element in the current and future conflict resolutions.

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I do second with what Dr. said that politicians & IR scholars ignore or fail to understand that emotions & visual has an impact and are the raising threats in current global changes. As how Dr explained briefly, emotions are abundance in IR studies. In addition, i personally believe that emotions could also lead to perception fueled military competition. For instance, in the case of Doklam Standoff between China & India. 'Insecurity' & misinterpretation  has led to the conflict & deteriorates the bilateral relations between these two emerging super powers as both capitals exhibit declining confidence in their mutual ability to peacefully settle their differences. Emotions of a leader is also reflected in a state's behavioral act and in their policy making. For ex. Japan' PM, Abe's interest to revise Japan's Defense Policy on Article 9 - on the use of force for self-defense if it is successfully implemented  is a clear manifestation of his credibility as a leader to show to the world that Japan will once again rise back as a super power even though it has been receiving pressure relentlessly from China & ROK. Thus, it is undeniable fact that emotions & visuals does have an impact to the security & also world politics at large.

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At the outset on my shallow understanding on Realism, i initially understand that Realism is essentially only about power and security, state relentlessly seek power & security because they exist in self-help system. Realist seeks prestige, security & autonomy & does not want to be interdependent and that state behavior changes & unpredictable - no natural harmony of interest (have to live with diversity). However, Prof. Randall's theory on BOI has brought broader perspective on Realism as compared BOP by Kenneth Waltz. Randall's theory is more acceptable & logical. The BOI theory states that survival is being on the winning side. Thus, power is not a threat it drives the state's choice. It also states that bandwagoning is not risky esp by the unsatisfied states as it is motivated by profit more than security. Thus, Randall's theory is more acceptable as it is based on current environment & global changes as compared to the earlier theories on Realism.

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The premises of BOI itself is very interesting. if you are to read the original book "Unanswered Threats: Political Constraints on the Balance of Power", you will know that Schweller has categorized state behaviors into 6 categories of animals, which is fun to study and try to put existing powers into those boxes. We shall continue this discussion in the class.

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Kana and Nadzatul have cited the examples of terrorism on the impact of the image and emotional linkage of two different agents: the giver (terrorist) and the receivers (terrorized audience). What makes Professor's Bleiker's argument unique, is the fact that in the study of IR, emotions are abundance: the fear (insecurity, objective of terrorism), anxiety and uncertainty (distrust, security dilemma, prisoner's dilemma, and even balance of power), and many more. Yet, politicians and IR scholars largely ignore the existence of emotions, regarding emotive expression as weakness, unscientific, and unprofessional.

Thus, to normalize the experience of emotions in international politics, is important. I think the world today has largely accepted this fact, ironically because we are now living in a turbulent era that is full of high level uncertainties and fear of conflict escalations.

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Images and emotions plays a significant role in world politics. Adding to Kana's example of terrorism and from the video itself, it's clear that social media platforms such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, etc. is a perfect example of how images and emotions are used by terrorists as a tool to gain sympathy, spread hate and propaganda, and also to recruit members.

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Schweller's definition of realism as explained in the video is not much different from my reading and understanding of realism. Realists seek for power and security for survival and believes in autonomy power. Realists are skeptical about interdependence on others as they believe they should and can only rely on themselves. However, after further reading, I agree that Schweller's '
"Balance of Interest" theory is more suitable today after the cold war era. Although it's still a realist thought, i think his views leans more towards neorealism (structural realism). Please correct me if i'm wrong Dr

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After viewing and understanding the content of the video shared by Professor Roland Bleiker on his research regarding on Visual Politics, I do strongly agreed with his statements that Politics and IR Scholars often neglected the importance of visual in projecting emotions revolving on all sorts of issues, ranging from human rights, global security, ethnic conflicts, terrorism and so on.

I too agreed on Dr Hoo’s point that in politics and IR there are abundance of emotions, but not much has been taken into considerations. Not only for people in Arts and Mass Communications, but Historians as well finds that visual are of importance because through visuals details, facts, stories and emotions are captured which allows the understanding of 5Ws 1H (what, where, who, when, why and how) which leads to events that happens across globe.

We have to owe our thanks to the progress and development of cyber and telecommunication technologies which opens the doorway for each and every people in the world to have access to worldwide information across the fingertip.

And one of the best example as shared by Dr Hoo in relation to Professor Bleikers research is the Humans of New York which now has become a movement that has able to play a vital role in portraying emotions through images that he captures, for example through his stories on The European migrant crisis (2015) with the collaboration alongside International Organizations (IOs) - UNHCR in which he shares the realtime emotional experience of these refugees running away from the wars that took place in the Middle East, or the heartbreaking story of 1994 Rwandan Genocide through the lens of Damas Gisimba and the orphanage children that Damas was able to rescue.

Hence, it is strongly agreed that visual are vital on depicting of emotions as well as affecting the policy and decision making by not merely by politicians and policy makers, but also for think-tanks, pressure groups, civil societies, individuals and many more.

Before ending this post, i would like to share this photo, and what is our emotions when we see this photo?

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After watching this video and googled his name so that I know he is well known as a neoclassical realist and famous for his theory of “balance of interests”.
His “balance of interests” theory is explaining that balances would happen according to interests rather than power (which is explained by Kenneth Waltz’s) or threats (which is emerged from Stephen Walt). I assume that this theory is more accurate than other theories because it is more empirical and critically analytical.

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Saya bersetuju dengan pandangan Kana bahawa emosi boleh dijadikan sebagai salah satu faktor untuk melihat IR dengan lebih luas.

Norma emosi akan sentiasa berubah dan bertindakbalas dengan tekanan sosial, politik, ekonomi, agama dan lain-lain. Oleh sebab itu, kepelbagaian dan perubahan dalam norma emosi  boleh mengubah dan mengawal tingkah laku politik. Contoh-contoh situasi dimana emosi memainkan peranan dalam perubahan sosiopolitik adalah seperti reaksi tindakbalas politik terhadap peningkatan keganasan global ataupun reaksi global terhadap kejadian bencana alam yang teruk.

Emosi memainkan peranan dalam struktur kuasa antarabangsa sedia ada samada merubah atau mencabar sistem yang telah ada sekarang. Makanya, adalah jelas bahawa emosi meresap ke semua aspek politik global, perang, diplomasi, perdagangan dan lain-lain melibatkan hubungan antarabangsa.

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Visual Politics by Professor Poland Bleiker

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Visual Politics by Professor Poland Bleiker

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After watching this video and understanding his thought in his readings, I figure out that although the conventional IR theories contributed to explain the reason and mechanism that lead to particular phenomena in world politics, there still may be a gap between a reality and a theory, which the study of emotions can clarify. Taking the example of terrorism, the reason of engaging in terrorist attacks is often coming from people's deep emotion. We cannot understand why the terrorist attacks in 11 September occurred without the emotional nature. Our emotions and images affect so much to world politics. So, I think that images and emotions can be the key to broaden our perspectives in IR.

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Please watch this video on Visual Politics by Professor Roland Bleiker. And if you choose to read his writings included in the email reading resources, on emotions in world politics, can you please share with us how do you find this scholar's idea on interpreting world politics by images and emotions?

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This video, 'Theory in Action: Realism', opens with "When Realist walked into a bar...", featuring Professor Randall Schweller, who is a theorist on power struggle and propose "Balance of Interest" in contrast to "Balance of Power" in explaining international relations.

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After watching the video, what do you think of Professor Schweller's definition of realism? How different it is from your readings and understanding of it?

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I would like to share this video which is one of a series as the same as Dr. Hoo posted.  This might help our understanding about Liberalism.