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

195 works between 1993 and 2025
All (195) Journal Article (100) Book Chapter (79) Conference Publication (3) Book (8) Other Outputs (2) Edited Outputs (3)

101 - 120 of 195 works

2008

Journal Article

Review of Myth, Protests and Struggle in Okinawa by Miyume Tanji

Bleiker, Roland (2008). Review of Myth, Protests and Struggle in Okinawa by Miyume Tanji. Australian Journal of Political Science, 43 (1), 161-162. doi: 10.1080/10361140701851954

Review of Myth, Protests and Struggle in Okinawa by Miyume Tanji

2008

Journal Article

Fear no more: Emotions and world politics

Bleiker, Roland and Hutchison, Emma (2008). Fear no more: Emotions and world politics. Review of International Studies, 34 (Supp. 1), 115-135. doi: 10.1017/S0260210508007821

Fear no more: Emotions and world politics

2008

Book Chapter

Visualizing Post-National Democracy

Bleiker, Roland (2008). Visualizing Post-National Democracy. The New Pluralism: William Connolly and the Contemporary Global Condition. (pp. 121-142) edited by David Campbell and Morton Schoolman. Durham and London: Duke University Press.

Visualizing Post-National Democracy

2008

Journal Article

Review of America Town: Building the Outposts of Empire by Mark L. Gillem

Bleiker, Roland (2008). Review of America Town: Building the Outposts of Empire by Mark L. Gillem. Journal of Military Ethics, 7 (2), 160-161. doi: 10.1080/15027570802094572

Review of America Town: Building the Outposts of Empire by Mark L. Gillem

2008

Book Chapter

Art against terror: Nonviolent alternatives through emotional insight

Bleiker, Roland (2008). Art against terror: Nonviolent alternatives through emotional insight. Nonviolence: An Alternative for Defeating Global Terror(ism). (pp. 169-186) edited by Senthil Ram and Ralph Summy. New York, U.S.: Nova Science Publishers.

Art against terror: Nonviolent alternatives through emotional insight

2008

Book Chapter

Emotions in the war on terror

Hutchison, Emma and Bleiker, Roland (2008). Emotions in the war on terror. Security and the war on terror. (pp. 57-70) edited by Alex J. Bellamy, Roland Bleiker, Sara E. Davies and Richard Devetak. London, England: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780203028094

Emotions in the war on terror

2008

Book Chapter

Introduction

Bellamy, Alex J. and Bleiker, Roland (2008). Introduction. Security and the war on terror. (pp. 1-6) edited by Alex J. Bellamy, Roland Bleiker, Sara E. Davies and Richard Devetak. London, England: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780203028094-5

Introduction

2008

Journal Article

Review essay: Traversing Patagonia: New writings on postcolonial international relations

Bleiker, Roland (2008). Review essay: Traversing Patagonia: New writings on postcolonial international relations. Political Theory, 36 (2), 313-320. doi: 10.1177/0090591707312454

Review essay: Traversing Patagonia: New writings on postcolonial international relations

2008

Journal Article

The Politics of Change: why global democracy needs dissent

Bleiker, Roland (2008). The Politics of Change: why global democracy needs dissent. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, 9 (2), 33-40.

The Politics of Change: why global democracy needs dissent

2008

Journal Article

Expanding Ethnographic Insights into Global Politics

Brigg, Morgan J. and Bleiker, Roland (2008). Expanding Ethnographic Insights into Global Politics. International Political Sociology, 2 (1), 89-90. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-5687.2007.00035_4.x

Expanding Ethnographic Insights into Global Politics

2008

Book

Security and the war on terror

Alex J. Bellamy, Roland Bleiker, Sara E. Davies and Richard Devetak eds. (2008). Security and the war on terror. Contemporary security studies, London, England: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780203028094

Security and the war on terror

2008

Journal Article

Self-determination: From decolonization to deterritorialization

Barnsley, Ingrid and Bleiker, Roland (2008). Self-determination: From decolonization to deterritorialization. Global Change, Peace and Security, 20 (2), 121-136. doi: 10.1080/14781150802079797

Self-determination: From decolonization to deterritorialization

2008

Book Chapter

Fear no more: Emotions and world politics

Bleiker, Roland and Hutchison, Emma (2008). Fear no more: Emotions and world politics. Cultures and politics of global communication. (pp. 115-135) edited by Costas M. Constantinour, Oliver P. Richmond and Alison M. S. Watson. Cambridge , U.K.: Cambridge University Press.

Fear no more: Emotions and world politics

2007

Journal Article

Introduction

Bellamy, Alex J. and Bleiker, Roland (2007). Introduction. Security and the War on Terror, 1-6. doi: 10.4324/9780203028094

Introduction

2007

Journal Article

Representing HIV/AIDS in Africa: Pluralist photography and local empowerment

Bleiker, R. and Kay, A. (2007). Representing HIV/AIDS in Africa: Pluralist photography and local empowerment. International Studies Quarterly, 51 (1), 139-163. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2478.2007.00443.x

Representing HIV/AIDS in Africa: Pluralist photography and local empowerment

2007

Book Chapter

Dealing with a nuclear North Korea: Conventional and alternative security scenarios

Bleiker, R. (2007). Dealing with a nuclear North Korea: Conventional and alternative security scenarios. Critical security in the Asia Pacific. (pp. 215-230) edited by Anthony Burke and Matt McDonald. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press.

Dealing with a nuclear North Korea: Conventional and alternative security scenarios

2007

Journal Article

Reconciling colonial memories in Korea and Japan

Hundt, D. and Bleiker, R. (2007). Reconciling colonial memories in Korea and Japan. Asian Perspective, 31 (1), 61-91.

Reconciling colonial memories in Korea and Japan

2007

Other Outputs

Understanding emotions in world politics: reflections on method

Bleiker, Roland and Hutchison, Emma (2007). Understanding emotions in world politics: reflections on method. Working Paper. 2007/5. Dept. of International Relations, Australian National University.

Understanding emotions in world politics: reflections on method

2007

Book Chapter

Postmodernism

Bleiker, Roland (2007). Postmodernism. An Introduction to International Relations: Australian Perspectives. (pp. 86-95) Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CBO9781139168557.009

Postmodernism

2007

Book Chapter

On the use and abuse of Korea's past: An inquiry into history teaching and reconciliation

Bleiker, Roland and Hoang, Young-Ju (2007). On the use and abuse of Korea's past: An inquiry into history teaching and reconciliation. Teaching the violent past: History, education and reconciliation. (pp. 249-274) edited by Elizabeth A. Cole. Lanham, MD, U.S.A.: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.

On the use and abuse of Korea's past: An inquiry into history teaching and reconciliation

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

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Picturing climate migration: critiquing the visual discourse

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Karen McNamara

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Feeling Nation-States: Emotions and Belonging in the Making of Postcolonial Nation-States

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Associate Professor Heloise Weber

  • Doctor Philosophy

    The Political Power of Cinema: Historical Trauma and Transitional Justice in East and Southeast Asia

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Picturing climate migration: critiquing the visual discourse

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Karen McNamara

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Visualising Sri Lanka's Humanitarian Crises

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Climate Change and Security in France

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Matt McDonald

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Climate Change and Security in France

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Matt McDonald

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Climate Change and Security in France

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Matt McDonald

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Intractable Conflict and Self-Sacrifice in Interpersonal Mediation

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Associate Professor Morgan Brigg

  • Master Philosophy

    Self-Sacrifice and Intractable Conflict

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Associate Professor Morgan Brigg

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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