Simon Norfolk is a landscape photographer based in London. His previous book, 'For Most Of It I Have No Words: Genocide, Landscape, Memory' about the places where there have been Genocides, was published in 1998 by Dewi Lewis Publishing. The pictures in 'Afghanistan: chronotopia' were made in December of 2001 and May of 2002 and won the European Publishers Award for Photography.
As a central component of contemporary culture, films mirror and shape political debate. Reflecting on this development, scholars in the field of International Relations (IR) increasingly explore the intersection of TV series, fiction film and global politics. So far, however, virtually no systematic scholarly attention has been given to documentary film within IR. This book fills this void by offering a critical companion to the subject aimed at assisting students, teachers and scholars of IR in understanding and assessing the various ways in which documentary films matter in global politics. The authors of this volume argue that much can be gained if we do not just think of documentaries as a window on or intervention in reality, but as a political epistemology that – like theories – involve particular postures, strategies and methodologies towards the world to which they provide access. This work will be of great interest to students and scholars of international relations, popular culture and world politics and media studies alike.