This volume explores political culture, especially the catastrophic elements of the global social order emerging in the twenty-first century. By emphasizing the texture of political action, the book theorizes how social context becomes evident on the surface of events and analyzes the performative dimensions of political experience. The attention to catastrophe allows for an understanding of how ordinary people contend with normal system operation once it is indistinguishable from system breakdown. Through an array of case studies, the book provides an account of change as it is experienced, negotiated, and resisted in specific settings that define a society's capacity for political action.

This volume explores political culture, especially the catastrophic elements of the global social order emerging in the twenty-first century. By emphasizing the texture of political action, the book theorizes how social context becomes evident on the surface of events and analyzes the performative dimensions of political experience. The attention to catastrophe allows for an understanding of how ordinary people contend with normal system operation once it is indistinguishable from system breakdown. Through an array of case studies, the book provides an account of change as it is experienced, negotiated, and resisted in specific settings that define a society's capacity for political action.

In "No Caption Needed," Robert Hariman and John Louis Lucaites provide the definitive study of the iconic photograph as a dynamic form of public art. Their critical analyses of nine individual icons explore the photographs themselves and their subsequent circulation through an astonishing array of media, including stamps, posters, billboards, editorial cartoons, TV shows, Web pages, tattoos, and more. Iconic images are revealed as models of visual eloquence, signposts for collective memory, means of persuasion across the political spectrum, and a crucial resource for critical reflection.
Arguing against the conventional belief that visual images short-circuit rational deliberation and radical critique, Hariman and Lucaites make a bold case for the value of visual imagery in a liberal-democratic society. "No Caption Needed" is a compelling demonstration of photojournalism's vital contribution to public life.

In this book, Robert Hariman demonstrates how matters of style--of diction, manners, sensibility, decor, and charisma--influence politics.
In critical studies of classic texts, Hariman identifies four dominant political styles. The realist style, as found in Machiavelli's "The Prince," creates a world of sheer power, constant calculation, and emotional control; this style is the common sense of modern political science. The courtly style, depicted in Kapuscinski's "The Emperor," is characterized by high decorousness, hierarchies, and fixation on the body of the sovereign; this style infuses mass media coverage of the American presidency. The republican style, reflected in Cicero's letters to Atticus, promotes the art of oratory, consensus, and civility; it informs our ideal of democratic conversation. The bureaucratic style, as captured in Kafka's "The Castle," emphasizes institutional procedures, official character, and the priority of writing; this style structures everday life.
Hariman looks at effective political artistry in figures from antiquity to modern politicians such as Vaclav Havel, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. He discusses the crises to which each style is susceptible, as well as the social and moral consequences of each style's success.

Agaunt woman stares into the bleakness of the Great Depression. An exuberant sailor plants a kiss on a nurse in the heart of Times Square. A naked Vietnamese girl runs in terror from a napalm attack. An unarmed man, alone, stops a tank in Tiananmen Square. Immediately familiar, each of these photographs has become an icon, galvanizing emotions and shaping public life. But why are these images so powerful? How did they become so prominent in the fast-changing worlds of popular culture and political debate? In No Caption Needed, Robert Hariman and John Louis Lucaites explore how these and other photojournalistic images have achieved iconic status. The authors' in-depth examinations consider both the images themselves and their circulation over time. They demonstrate how the decisive moments captured in these individual images are later reproduced in billboards, cartoons, posters, tattoos, Web pages, and other media to influence political beliefs, attitudes, and identity. Iconic images are shown to be models of visual eloquence, signposts for collective memory, and means of persuasion across the political spectrum. photos is dangerous because it short-circuits rational thought, Hariman and Lucaites instead make a bold case for the necessity of such imagery in modern democratic life. No Caption Needed is a powerful demonstration of the vital role of photojournalism - and the emotional responses it triggers - in a healthy democracy.