Introductory Improvisations on a Theme: Resounding International Relations

“They Don't Really Care About Us!” On Political Worldviews in Popular Music

“…Whereas Davies (2005), Dunn (2008), Franklin (2005), and Shapiro (2004) reveal dissident counter-narratives in non-mainstream genres, we came across a pronounced counter-narrative when analyzing top ten hits. 20 Challenges to the status quo thus do not only emanate from alternative niches.…”

“…Recognizing “that art too is a form of representation; incomplete and problematic by nature” (ibid, 527) and that our reading of the lyrics may concur neither with the interpretations by other scholars nor with the ideas of the musicians themselves, we nevertheless venture to take these worldviews for granted: By grasping them as narratives that “help to constitute public images of world politics” (Weldes :7) and by reconstructing some of the “myths” (Weber ) that are expressed in widespread songs, we could draw a first outline of the most frequently highlighted political issues. Even though our analysis offered no understanding of these issues along the categories provided by Schönberg or The Beatles (as Franklin :8f suggests), it revealed some “counter‐narratives” (ibid, 13) that are at odds with the inclusive narrative of liberal democracies. Whereas the liberal narrative rests upon a solid trust in the possibility to resolve societal conflicts by resorting to democratic institutions, the analyzed songs uttered a similarly solid distrust toward the same institutions.…”

“…In a similar way, hip‐hop/rap is interpreted as a more contemporary manifestation of the very project of enunciating resistance against the construction of a unitary national identity or culture. Hip‐hop denies considering music a mere consumer product and a symbol of geopolitical union (see Franklin :1ff). In place of diasporic experiences, it refers to “‘hood, the street, posses’” and successfully reaches out for a transnational dialogue of the “black counter‐public scattered throughout the globe” (Shapiro :100).…”

“…Franklin criticizes the dominance of the visual compared to the aural in Western knowledge production and suggests examining phenomena such as globalization by means of categories borrowed from the language of music: “Who is doing the composing, arranging, performing, listening, dancing, singing, or freestyling along? Who are the agents, impressarios, and reviewers?” she asks (Franklin :8f), aiming at a critical inquiry into the day‐to‐day dimensions of politics, economics, and culture. In a similar fashion, Bleiker alleges a neglect of music and emotions by conventional IR scholarship and seeks for political insight through music—insight that is unobtainable from “other sources of knowledge, such as texts or visual art” (Bleiker :179).…”

“… Due to its omnipresence in pop songs, we spared the dimension of gender, feminism, and sexuality to keep our sample processable. However, related topics have been examined intensively in cultural studies (see, for instance, Lecklider and Railton and Watson ) so that—at least from our perspective—issues such as the construction of heteronormativity or references to violence and misogyny in pop music (see Franklin :4) can be considered commonplace. …”