Defacing Power: The Aesthetics of Insecurity in Global Politics

247 Pages·2010·0.8 MB·English

by  Brent J. Steele

defacing power

defacing power
The Aesthetics of Insecurity
in Global Politics
brent j. steele
The University of Michigan Press • Ann Arbor
Copyright © by the University of Michigan 2010
All rights reserved
Published in the United States of America by
The University of Michigan Press
Manufactured in the United States of America
cPrinted on acid-free paper
2013 2012 2011 2010 4 3 2 1
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
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A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Steele, Brent J.
Defacing power : the aesthetics of insecurity in global politics /
Brent J. Steele.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn978-0-472-11732-1 (cloth : alk. paper) —
isbn978-0-472-02280-9 (e-book)
1. Security, International. 2. Power (Social sciences)
I. Title.
jz5588.s742 2010
355'.033—dc22 2010014121
For Annabelle Kathleen and Joseph Eldon,
the genuine beauty of my life

Preface and
Acknowledgments
The idea to pursue the intersection of aesthetics, power, and insecurity
in global politics came to me not in an inspirational moment or even
over a particularly bene‹cial conference or seminar. Rather, the idea for
this book came over the course of several years and through observations
in a variety of environments. These included the particular attitudes of
individuals, groups, and various societies where appearance was consid-
ered an ample replacement for substance; the proclamations that “will”
shows strength while backing down from a confrontation demonstrates
weakness; and, of course, the cocky and bombastic veneer of particular
world leaders who were in every other sense struggling to hold their
countries together. This led to a hunch—that the con‹dence of the pow-
erful is a facade, that what we often take to be strength belies a particu-
lar weakness, and (to paraphrase General Patton) that the security found
in this aesthetic power is ›eeting. Someday, I ‹gured, I would investigate
the facade of aesthetic power as it is manifested in global politics. This
book is about the defacing of that power, what occurs when the appear-
anceof strength is challenged.
Individuals do things to make themselves more beautiful or “pre-
sentable” to others (dress nicely, put on makeup, have good hygiene). By
doing so, they feel more in control of who they are and what they are do-
ing. But that sensation can be quite fragile. This book is about how pow-
erful actors, including nation-states, do this as well—self-create in order
to attain a sense of control, a senseof security. By challenging that self-cre-
ation, what I term counterpowercreates quick moments of insecurity, forc-
ing powerful actors to self-create yet again. A turn to aesthetics, where
sensations are at the forefront, is potentially useful here, for our under-
standing of security, the activity of self-creation, and reactions to inse-
cure moments in international politics.
viii • Preface and Acknowledgments
Writing a book with the word aestheticsin the subtitle is risky even in to-
day’s more open and pluralist ‹eld of International Relations, and I
surely could not have done so without the assistance, support, and
friendships of many people. Several individuals looked over the prospec-
tus and provided very helpful feedback, including Mlada Bukovansky,
Ronald Krebs, and Francois Debrix. I also had the honor of receiving
Francois’s insights at the 2008 convention of the International Studies
Association in San Francisco, where he served as a discussant and issued
comments over a paper I presented on parrhesia that eventually mi-
grated into chapter 4. In the summer of 2008, I bene‹ted from a very
professionally inspirational meeting at the “Thinking With(out) Bor-
ders” conference on international political theory, held at the University
of St. Andrews. While there, I received helpful feedback from a number
of individuals, including especially Tony Lang, who, along with Ward
Thomas, gave some insightful advice while we were looking for Tony’s er-
rant golf shots in the gorse one afternoon. Tony also issued comments
over chapters as the project evolved. He has served as a very important
mentor and friend to me over the years, and I am fortunate to have met
such a kind individual, not to mention world-class scholar, as Tony. Kate
Schick and Scott Nelson supplied very helpful suggestions during my pa-
per presentation at St. Andrews. I was also quite lucky to spend some
time in Scotland with Nick Onuf, a scholar whose work has transformed
the ‹eld of IR theory. Nick provided enormously helpful critical com-
ments on several portions of the work.
Several other individuals, Stefano Guzzini, Benjamin Herborth,
Patrick Thaddeus Jackson, Daniel Nexon, and Ole Wæver, through their
work and also the discussions I have had with them, provided me a ton of
food for thought regarding power and aesthetics. I have a group of
friends who sent me detailed comments on several chapters. Jon Acuff
and Jon D. Carlson not only imparted erudite, detailed, and (as always
with those two) entertaining observations on draft chapters but also as-
signed portions to their students. I thank both of them and their stu-
dents for this thoughtful assistance. Jack Amoureux, Jeremy Youde, and
David McCourt supplied critical but incredibly supportive insights on
portions of the work. Andrew Hom, a former grad student of mine who
is now on to bigger and better things, somehow found the time to look
over an endless array of chapter drafts that I sent him and issued fantas-
tic and supportive comments. At the University of Kansas, I have had the
luxury to be surrounded by a very impressive array of scholars (and
friends) who have lent collegial and professional support. Most espe-
Preface and Acknowledgments • ix
cially, I would like to thank Hannah Britton, Alesha Doan, Don Haider-
Markel, and Julie Kaarbo. I thank Ben Lampe for formatting assistance.
The staff of the University of Michigan Press has been outstanding. I
have no idea when Melody Herr ‹nds time to sleep, but she is the most
ef‹cient and impressive editor I have met in this business of academic
publishing. Melody procured several brilliant blind reviewers for this
project at several stages of its development, issued her own helpful and
grounded insights on several chapters, and was a critical but supportive
voice while I kept plunking away at draft chapters, response letters, and
marketing materials. Thanks to Melody for taking a chance on this work
and to Scott Grif‹th for his very patient and ef‹cient help in seeing it to
production. I would also like to thank the three anonymous reviewers
who provided enormously helpful feedback on this project.
Portions of chapter 2 are rewritten from my article “Making Words
Matter: The Asian Tsunami, Darfur, and ‘Re›exive Discourse’ in Inter-
national Politics,” published in International Studies Quarterly 51, no. 4
(December 2007): 901–25. I thank Wiley-Blackwell Press for permission
to republish. Portions of chapters 1 and 4 are rewritten from my article
“‘Ideals That Were Never Really in Our Possession’: Torture, Honor, and
U.S. Identity,” published in International Relations 22, no. 2 (2008):
243–61. I thank Sage Press for permission to republish.
I have bene‹ted from a very supportive network of close friends and
family, including my parents Ted and Barb Steele. The many golf outings
I have had with my friend Matt Pogemiller have proven to be welcome di-
versions from academic life, and I thank him for tolerating the contin-
ued deterioration of my game. My brother, Kyle Steele, his wife, Lisa, and
my nephews, Brenan and Kaleb, are a constant source of love, entertain-
ment, and encouragement. My grandfather Eldon Akers continues to in-
spire me. A lot of what I am today is due to the unconditional love and
support he provided me for over three decades.
Finally and most important, my wife, Mindy, once again proved to be
the rock of our family during the many late nights (and early mornings)
I spent at my of‹ce on writing binges. She was and always has been a
steady source of support and encouragement. My children, Annabelle
Kathleen and Joseph Eldon, enrich my life and impact it in ways they will
never know. Both coming home to Belle during the last weeks of drafting
the ‹rst full manuscript and the many days with Joe during the months I
spent revising provided fuel for an often exhausted soul. Their beauty,
laughter, and love have transformed me for the better. It is to them that
I dedicate this book.