Enemy Images Emergence, Consequences and Counteraction

<p>This book offers a detailed understanding of ‘enemy images’, which are used in political rhetoric to dehumanize adversaries for various purposes, such as to legitimate violent conflicts.</p><p>Applying theoretical models to a strong catalogue of historical and recent examples – from blood libel narratives in medieval manuscripts, to state-sponsored children’s board games in Nazi Germany and social media posts about the wars in Gaza and Ukraine – the book identifies how ‘enemy images’ have led to the development of dominant socio-political paradigms by providing justifications for and reinforcements of violent conflicts both within and between societies. In doing so, the work offers an up-to-date, accessible and authoritative overview of how to identify, analyse, and counteract energy images – which will be key to fostering social environments of reconciliation and peacebuilding for the future.</p><p>This book will be of much interest to students and scholars of peace and conflict studies, International Relations, history, political sociology, and communication studies. </p>