Overwriting the City: Graffiti, Communication, and Urban Contestation in Athens Cover Image

Overwriting the City: Graffiti, Communication, and Urban Contestation in Athens
Overwriting the City: Graffiti, Communication, and Urban Contestation in Athens

Author(s): Anna Marazuela Kim, Tara Flores
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Communication studies, Politics and communication, Politics and society
Published by: NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence
Keywords: graffiti; image war; strategic narratives; influence; soft power; strategic communication; strategic communications;

Summary/Abstract: To date, most discussions and analyses of strategic communications within the context of International Relations and Security Studies focus on the linguistic realm. Those that do recognise the power and role of images in these domains, particularly as they reflect upon the contemporary image wars waged by IS and other insurgent groups, tend to focus on the virtual realm of social media and globalized news networks. This article aims instead to articulate a methodological framework for understanding the force and potential of a distinctively spatial and material form of communication: graffiti. Taking Athens as a case study, the article articulates graffiti’s role as a form of strategic communications in areas of social and political crisis, and further suggests its value as a non-violent means of negotiating conflict in areas with limited avenues for democratic expression.

  • Issue Year: 3/2017
  • Issue No: 3
  • Page Range: 9-39
  • Page Count: 31
  • Language: English