A critical geopolitics of observant practice at British military airshows

This paper demonstrates how visual cultures of militarism take shape as part of a 'thick' geopolitics of being-in-place. It draws on historical accounts of, and empirical observations at, British military airshows, which it interprets via the concept of 'observant practice'. The...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transactions - Institute of British Geographers (1965) 2015-10, Vol.40 (4), p.536-548
Main Author: Rech, Matthew F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Britain
critical geopolitics
Geopolitics
Historical account
militarisation
Militarism
Military
Nationalism
observant practice
Popular culture
Populism
United Kingdom
visual culture
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This paper demonstrates how visual cultures of militarism take shape as part of a 'thick' geopolitics of being-in-place. It draws on historical accounts of, and empirical observations at, British military airshows, which it interprets via the concept of 'observant practice'. The paper argues that the imaginative and rhetorical force of military spectacle and popular militarism are tied to its markedly enclavic spatiality, i.e. to seeing and doing in-place. By taking seriously the spatial and sensory experience of British airshows, the paper extends recent work in critical geopolitics that questions the spatialised politics of experience, and brings them into dialogue with cultural geographies of tourism. It provides a brief history of the spectacular origins of aviation and of the use of airshows to the practice of statecraft, and demonstrates how airshows are an important element in the cultural phenomenon of militarisation. The paper takes forward debates around 'the vision thing' in critical geopolitics by illustrating why the notion of observant practice should not be dissociated from consideration of the spaces in and through which militaries become the object of visual curiosity. It expands, therefore, the potential of observant practice as a critique of popular military cultures.
ISSN:0020-2754
1475-5661
DOI:10.1111/tran.12093