How Images and Emotions Shape Conflict and Peace

Awarding Prof Bleiker an Olof Palme Visiting Professorship would benefit the Swedish research community by developing an increasingly important subject area in which he is a worldwide leader: how images and emotions shape conflicts and their resolution.

From the Middle East to Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula, images and the emotions they engender influence how conflicts are perceived and politically engaged.

This inter-disciplinary field of research has come further internationally than in Sweden, which makes Bleiker’s planned visit vital as a way of reinforcing and expanding Swedish research within this burgeoning field.

Drawing on existing links with Swedish scholars, Bleiker will use his pioneering expertise and international networks to build new collaborations to place the Swedish research community at the forefront of one of the most important recent developments in peace and conflict studies.

Hosted by the Swedish Defence University and closely integrated into its daily activities, Bleiker will organise two international workshops designed to develop joint projects and grant proposals.

As part of his long-term commitment to mentoring, he will also hold a series of activities – from methods training to career planning - for postgraduate and early-career scholars.

In addition, Bleiker will give lectures and promote research collaboration at three other Swedish universities that all support this application: Lund, Gothenburg and Uppsala.