Resounding International Relations : On Music, Culture, and Politics

This book traces a potentially rich and provocative area of inquiry for critical theory and research in IR/IPE: music. Not just because political science barely engages with anything musical, but also because it is clear that many opportunities for critical scholarship and reflection on global politics and economics are present in the spaces and relationships created by organized sound. It is easy to focus on the textual elements of music, but there is more at stake than just the words. Critical reflection on the intersections between music and politics also need to take into account the visceral and non-verbal elements such as counterpoint and harmony, polyphony and dissonance, noise, rhymes, rhythms, performance and the visual/aural dimensions to music-making. Front Matter....Pages i-xv Introductory Improvisations on a Theme: Resounding International Relations....Pages 1-26 Front Matter....Pages 27-27 Concentrated Industry, Fragmented Consumption: The Global Music Industry in the New Millennium....Pages 29-51 Sounds Complicated? Music, Film, and Media Synergies....Pages 53-70 Sharing as Piracy: The Digital Future of Music....Pages 71-88 Americanization at Its Best?: The Globalization of Jazz....Pages 89-109 Front Matter....Pages 111-111 Do It Yourself: Punk Rock and the Disalienation of International Relations....Pages 113-140 Who Is Listening? Hip-Hop in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Senegal....Pages 141-160 “My Dance Immoral? Alhamdulillah No!” Dangdut Music and Gender Politics in Contemporary Indonesia....Pages 161-177 Of Things We Hear but Cannot See: Musical Explorations of International Politics....Pages 179-195 Front Matter....Pages 197-197 Sounds of Peace: On Peace Fantasies and Peace Offerings in Classical Music....Pages 199-221 Operatic Mythologies, Political Performativity, and Cinema: Verdi, Visconti, and the Risorgimento....Pages 223-238 A Medium of Others: Rhythmic Soundscapes as Critical Utopias....Pages 239-262 The Clash of Civilization: Notes from a Punk/Scholar....Pages 263-283 Back Matter....Pages 285-320 This book explores a provocative area of inquiry for critical theory and research into world politics and popular culture: music. Not just because political science barely engages with anything musical, but also because it is clear that many opportunities for critical scholarship and reflection on global politics and economics are present in the spaces and relationships created by organized sound. It is easy to focus on the textual elements of music, but there is more at stake than just the words. Critical reflection on the intersections between music and politics also need to take into account the visceral and non-verbal elements such as counterpoint and harmony, polyphony and dissonance, noise, rhymes, rhythms, performance and the visual/aural dimensions to music-making. "Resounding International Relations is a unique collection of exploratory essays by international relations scholars, and special guests, into past and contemporary issues in world politics through music. Contributors focus on the chosen music in itself but also in terms of the sociocultural and political economic context in which it emerged. Cases are taken from classical, popular, and "world" music in an interdisciplinary resounding of familiar themes in international relations research from a number of different perspectives."--Jacket