Professor Roland Bleiker
Professor

Roland Bleiker

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 336 51068

Background

Roland is Professor of International Relations and Coordinator of the Visual Politics Research Program. His research explores how images and emotions shape political phenomena, including humanitarianism, security, peacebuilding, protest movements and the conflict in Korea. Books include Visual Global Politics (Routledge, 2018); Aesthetics and World Politics (Palgrave, 2009/2012); Divided Korea: Toward a Culture of Reconciliation (University of Minnesota Press, 2005/2008) and Popular Dissent, Human Agency and Global Politics (CUP, 2000).

Roland’s main current research project is an interdisciplinary ARC Linkage collaboration (2022-2026) on The Politics and Ethics of Visualising Humanitarian Crises. The project involves eight researchers and the World Press Photo Foundation, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Australian Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières.

Roland grew up in Zürich, Switzerland, where he was educated and worked as a lawyer. He studied international relations in Paris, Seoul, Toronto, Vancouver and Canberra. Roland also worked for two years in a Swiss diplomatic mission in the Korean DMZ and held visiting affiliations at Harvard, Cambridge, Humboldt, Tampere, Yonsei and Pusan National University as well as the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague. He is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.

Further informatin can be found on Roland''s personal website:

For an in-person or zoom appointment book here: https://calendly.com/bleiker

Selection of Recent Publications

“Decolonising Affect" Cooperation and Conflict (2024)

“Un-Disciplining the International” Alternatives: Local, Global, Political (2023)

"Visualizing International Relations” Journal of Visual Political Communication, 10,(2023

"Visual Violence" Interview with Brad Evans, Los Angeles Review of Books, 3 Jan 2022.

Availability

Professor Roland Bleiker is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Government and politics of Asia and the Pacific Human Society International relations Language, Communication and Culture Political science

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Arts, University of Toronto
  • Masters (Coursework), The University of British Columbia
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Australian National University

Research interests

  • International Relations: Visual Politics and Emotions

    Theories of International Relations. How images and emotions shape political phenomena, including security, diplomacy and humanitarian crises.

  • Peace and Conflict Studies

    Conflict resolution in societies divided by trauma. Transnational social movements and the conceptualisation of political change. Art and literature as sources of political transformation.

  • Politics and Security in Korea

    Security and reconciliation on the Korean peninsula, including policy-relevant debates.

Research impacts

Much of my work has revolved around combining theory and practice. I embark on conceptual inquires to rethink entrenched political dillemas. At the moment my main practice-oriented reserach is a four year collaborative project on The Politics and Ethics of Visualising Humanitarian Crises. Funded through an ARC Linkage Grant (2022-2025) this project aims to draw on the power of images to transform practices and policies of aid. In particular, the project develops – and tests - alternative visual strategies that depict humanitarian crises in ways that encourage compassion for victims without entrenching problematic stereotypes. We work with four prominent Partner Organisations that are at the forefront of humanitarian and photojournalistic work: The World Press Photo Foundation, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Australian Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières. The project team consists of myself and five other Chief Investigators: A/Prof Emma Hutchison, from the School of Political Science and International Studies; Prof Matthew Hornsey and Dr Cassandra Chapman from the UQ Business School, as well as A/Prof Sana Nakata from the University of Melbourne and Prof Bina D’Costa from the Australian National University. Involved as well are two Partner Investigators: Prof Fiona Terry, Head of Research at the ICRC, and Prof David Campbell, formerly Director of Communication at World Press Photo and now with The VII Foundation.

Search Professor Roland Bleiker’s works on UQ eSpace

192 works between 1993 and 2024
All (192) Journal Article (99) Book Chapter (77) Conference Publication (3) Book (8) Other Outputs (2) Edited Outputs (3)

1 - 20 of 192 works

Featured

2018

Book

Visual global politics

Roland Bleiker ed. (2018). Visual global politics. Abingdon, Oxon United Kingdom: Routledge - Taylor and Francis. doi: 10.4324/9781315856506

Visual global politics

Featured

2012

Book

Aesthetics and world politics

Bleiker, Roland (2012). Aesthetics and world politics. Houndmills, U. K.: Palgrave Macmillan.

Aesthetics and world politics

Featured

2005

Book

Divided Korea: Toward a culture of reconciliation

Bleiker, Roland (2005). Divided Korea: Toward a culture of reconciliation. Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A.: University of Minnesota Press.

Divided Korea: Toward a culture of reconciliation

Featured

2000

Book

Popular dissent, human agency and global politics

Bleiker, Roland (2000). Popular dissent, human agency and global politics. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.

Popular dissent, human agency and global politics

2024

Journal Article

Decolonising affect: Emotions and the politics of peace

Hutchison, Emma, Bleiker, Roland, Bourne, Josephine and Hoang, Young-ju (2024). Decolonising affect: Emotions and the politics of peace. Cooperation and Conflict, 59 (2), 149-170. doi: 10.1177/00108367241244956

Decolonising affect: Emotions and the politics of peace

2023

Journal Article

Un-Disciplining the International

Bleiker, Roland (2023). Un-Disciplining the International. Alternatives: Global, Local, Political, 49 (3), 198-203. doi: 10.1177/03043754231181743

Un-Disciplining the International

2023

Journal Article

Visualizing international relations: Challenges and opportunities in an emerging research field

Bleiker, Roland (2023). Visualizing international relations: Challenges and opportunities in an emerging research field. Journal of Visual Political Communication, 10 (1), 17-25. doi: 10.1386/jvpc_00022_1

Visualizing international relations: Challenges and opportunities in an emerging research field

2023

Journal Article

Foreword: Decolonizing Visual Global Politics

Bleiker, Roland (2023). Foreword: Decolonizing Visual Global Politics. Political Campaigning and Communication, v-viii.

Foreword: Decolonizing Visual Global Politics

2022

Book Chapter

Art and Aesthetics

Bleiker, Roland and Hutchison, Emma (2022). Art and Aesthetics. Gender Matters in Global Politics. (pp. 94-108) London: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003036432-10

Art and Aesthetics

2021

Journal Article

Seeing beyond disciplines: aesthetic creativity in international theory

Bleiker, Roland (2021). Seeing beyond disciplines: aesthetic creativity in international theory. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 75 (6), 573-590. doi: 10.1080/10357718.2021.1992129

Seeing beyond disciplines: aesthetic creativity in international theory

2021

Journal Article

Visualising Korea: Critical Moments in History, Society and Politics

Bleiker, Roland, Chapman, David and Shim, David (2021). Visualising Korea: Critical Moments in History, Society and Politics. Asian Studies Review, 45 (3), 374-380. doi: 10.1080/10357823.2021.1937836

Visualising Korea: Critical Moments in History, Society and Politics

2021

Book Chapter

Visuality of peace and conflict

Hutchison, Emma and Bleiker, Roland (2021). Visuality of peace and conflict. The Oxford handbook of peacebuilding, statebuilding, and peace formation. (pp. 1-17) edited by Oliver P. Richmond and Gëzim Visoka. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190904418.013.14

Visuality of peace and conflict

2021

Journal Article

Commentary for Visual Studies

Bleiker, Roland (2021). Commentary for Visual Studies. Visual Studies, 36 (3), 215-217. doi: 10.1080/1472586x.2021.1970337

Commentary for Visual Studies

2021

Book Chapter

Refugees, asylum seekers, and emotions

Bleiker, Roland, Campbell, David and Hutchison, Emma (2021). Refugees, asylum seekers, and emotions. The Oxford handbook of Australian politics. (pp. 222-240) edited by Jenny M. Lewis and Anne Tiernan. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198805465.013.14

Refugees, asylum seekers, and emotions

2021

Book Chapter

Performing political empathy

Bleiker, Roland and Hutchison, Emma (2021). Performing political empathy. The Oxford handbook of politics and performance. (pp. 594-608) edited by Shirin M. Rai, Milija Gluhovic, Silvija Jestrovic and Michael Saward. New York, United States: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190863456.013.27

Performing political empathy

2021

Book Chapter

Performing political empathy

Bleiker, Roland and Hutchison, Emma (2021). Performing political empathy. The Oxford handbook of politics and performance. (pp. 595-608) edited by Shirin M. Rai, Milija Gluhovic, Silvija Jestrovic and Michael Saward. New York, NY USA: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190863456.013.27

Performing political empathy

2020

Book Chapter

The politics of images: a pluralist methodological framework

Bleiker, Roland (2020). The politics of images: a pluralist methodological framework. Critical Methods for the Study of World Politics: Creativity and Transformation. (pp. 272-288) edited by Shine Choi, Anna Selmeczi and Erzsébet Strausz. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315104997-21

The politics of images: a pluralist methodological framework

2019

Journal Article

AJPS Forum on ‘exploring the (multiple) futures of world politics through popular culture,’ edited by Penny Griffin

Bleiker, Roland (2019). AJPS Forum on ‘exploring the (multiple) futures of world politics through popular culture,’ edited by Penny Griffin. Australian Journal of Political Science, 54 (4), 505-507. doi: 10.1080/10361146.2019.1663401

AJPS Forum on ‘exploring the (multiple) futures of world politics through popular culture,’ edited by Penny Griffin

2019

Journal Article

Visual autoethnography and international security: insights from the Korean DMZ

Bleiker, Roland (2019). Visual autoethnography and international security: insights from the Korean DMZ. European Journal of International Security, 4 (3), 274-299. doi: 10.1017/eis.2019.14

Visual autoethnography and international security: insights from the Korean DMZ

2019

Journal Article

Writing Visual Global Politics: in Defence of a Pluralist Approach—a Response to Gabi Schlag, “Thinking and Writing Visual Global Politics”

Bleiker, Roland (2019). Writing Visual Global Politics: in Defence of a Pluralist Approach—a Response to Gabi Schlag, “Thinking and Writing Visual Global Politics”. International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society, 32 (1), 115-123. doi: 10.1007/s10767-018-9299-5

Writing Visual Global Politics: in Defence of a Pluralist Approach—a Response to Gabi Schlag, “Thinking and Writing Visual Global Politics”

Current funding

  • 2022 - 2026
    Visualising humanitarian crises: transforming images and aid policy
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2028
    Developing UQ as a central hub for nurturing the next generation of Korean Studies education, research and regional cooperation for Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia
    The Academy of Korean Studies
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2011 - 2014
    How Images Shape Responses to Humanitarian Crises
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2011
    UQ Travel Awards Category 1 - Dr James Brassett
    UQ Travel Grants Scheme
    Open grant
  • 2011
    UQ Travel Awards Category 1 - Prof Iver B Neumann
    UQ Travel Grants Scheme
    Open grant
  • 2010
    UQ Travel Awards Category 1, David Campbell
    UQ Travel Grants Scheme
    Open grant
  • 2006 - 2007
    Mediating Across Difference: Asian and Oceanic Approaches to Security and Conflict
    The Japan Foundation, Sydney
    Open grant
  • 2005
    Towards an Aesthetics of Peace at at Time of War: Alternative Understandings and Responses to Global Terrorism
    University of Queensland Research Development Grants Scheme
    Open grant
  • 2001 - 2002
    From Confrontation to Cooperation in Korea: The Role of Identity in the Formation of Security Policy
    United States Institute of Peace
    Open grant
  • 1999
    Rethinking security and ethics in divided nations.
    UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund
    Open grant

Availability

Professor Roland Bleiker is:
Available for supervision

Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.

Available projects

Supervision history

Current supervision

Completed supervision

Enquiries

Contact Professor Roland Bleiker directly for media enquiries about:

  • Anti-globalisation critique
  • International relations and security
  • Korea - peace and security
  • New social movements
  • Peace and conflict issues
  • Peace and conflict studies
  • Peace and security in Korea

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