The satiric vision of politics: Ethics, interests and disorders

Abstract

In The Tragic Vision of Politics (Lebow, 2003), Richard Ned Lebow argues that a ‘tragic understanding of the political’ provides the best ontological and epistemological foundations for a theory of International Relations. This article challenges that claim. It argues that other literary modes of representing social life can offer equally strong bases for international theories. To that end, it examines the ‘satirical vision of politics’ with reference to satirists as diverse as Aristophanes and Erasmus. It concludes that satire can provide just as good a form of political education as tragedy and just as robust a foundation for the kind of theory Lebow prefers.

Representation of corruption in Vietnam’s contemporary mass media: Insights from online news satirical cartoons

“…Another essential component of satire is irony, which is the act of saying or expressing the contrary to what the author and the audience know is (or ought to be) the case. Jonathan Swift's "The modest proposal" ( 1729) is often cited as the most successful and dramatic satirical use of irony (Colletta, 2009;Hall, 2014).…”

“…The theoretical works highlight that satire, at its best, can convey a sense of proportion to all subject matters; however difficult they are. As such, Hall (2014) proposes a "satiric vision of politics," in which satire can serve as a powerful medium to teach important lessons about international relations. McAllister and Luckman ( 2015) view the political humor used in the famous Vietnamese Television show,…”

“…In fact, there are both theoretical and empirical works that support the learning effects of political satire. For example, Hall (2014) argues for a "satirical vision of politics," in which he examines the use of satire since Aristophanes and proposes satire can be an instrument for political education and provides a robust foundation, ontologically and epistemologically, for a theory in International Relations. Hayes (2016) explores how satire can fit into public affairs classroom and facilitate education of critical pedagogy.…”

Reading comics for the field of International Relations: Theory, method and the Bosnian War

“…The critique of the international community is visually enhanced by the use of satire, caricature and metaphors. As Hall (2014: 228) points out, those using satire ‘intend to make their audience angry, uncomfortable, discontented, restless or irritated with the subject of the satire’. The ‘warnings’ extended from the UN to the Bosnian Serbs are ridiculed as inconsequential ‘wagging fingers’ balloons that are mocked and easily shot down by the Serbs.…”

“A Catharsis for Anxieties”: Insights from Goffman on the Politics of Humour

“…Goffman's dramaturgical approach is, I argue, also useful for studying humour at the everyday level. It in turn might help bridge humour as a concept to existing works focused on the interpersonal dynamics of diplomacy (Neumann 2007; as well as work on satire (Hall 2014;Payne 2017;Kuusisto 2018).…”