2c:T4eb,

Art and imagery consumed globally through digital and social media are increasingly intertwined with everyday life and politics. This article discusses the often contentious politics of seeing art and imagery, and the problematique that surrounds it. It inverts the lens to look at visual cultures by contextualising it within larger cultural politics and examines the process of visual meaning-making in the public sphere. We seek to disrupt disciplinary and methodological boundaries and employ a transdisciplinary approach to deconstructing meaning-making in the public sphere. We focus on how continued hegemonic discourses are problematised in the production and representation of artworks, especially in the context of the Global South, and how these contribute to decolonising visual cultures and knowledge production. We argue that seeing as a conscious act of engagement differs from casual consumption and spectatorship, and an engaged position alters the viewer’s receptivity. We conclude that through participatory engagement with art and an ongoing dialogue a more inclusive public sphere is possible, enabling education and disrupting a multitude of power hierarchies.

2d:T4bd,

Although climate change has been recognized as a “threat multiplier,” its specific effects on conflict-affected areas remain underexplored. This study investigates the nexus between climate change and violent conflict within the “fragile geography” of Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province. Balochistan’s increasingly fragmented security landscape and recurring natural disasters, notably the 2022 floods, provide a pertinent background for examining the interplay between climate change and violent conflict. A qualitative approach was employed, whereby interviews and group discussions were conducted in two Balochistan districts. The analysis revealed that weak institutional capacity, deep-rooted socioeconomic and political inequalities, and notably, “migration patterns” are critical variables influencing the dynamic interplay between climate change and violent conflict in the region. By analyzing the vulnerabilities inherent in Balochistan’s diverse physiography, this study illuminates how climate change exacerbates violent conflict in a region already beset by instability, highlighting the urgent need for a more nuanced understanding to address these complex challenges.

2e:T40d,

This paper critically examines the principal instruments employed by the European Union to promote good governance in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) through development cooperation. The main research question is: To what extent do the EU’s development cooperation instruments contribute to good governance promotion in Sub-Saharan Africa? To address this question, the paper begins with a brief overview of EU-SSA relations from a historical perspective. It then reviews the various financial and political development cooperation instruments utilized by the EU to promote good governance in SSA. Next, by analyzing relevant data on EU governance aid towards SSA, the paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the characteristics of EU governance aid policies in the region in order to unpack their merits and limits. Finally, the paper critically analyzes the underlining factors behind the mixed outcomes of the EU’s good governance promotion instruments using policy documents, academic articles and various data sources.

2f:T41e,

This study examines the representation of regional organization (RO) interests during high-level visits of their member states to the United States using a novel dataset of 1,040 news articles from 1991 to 2023. The data analysis focuses on ASEAN, BRICS, ECOWAS, and GCC and employs sentiment analysis and topic modeling to explore how member states leverage these visits and how U.S. news media frames these events. The analysis of data reveals that member states strategically utilize high-level visits to promote RO agendas and interests, with varyi