This book highlights essential factors in political world events which are usually not touched upon by the media. The role of personal and collective identities, the reactivation of shared images of past historical events, and anxiety of the unknown are described and clearly illustrated. For those wishing to make sense of today's international political climate, I highly recommend reading this timely book. -- Vamik Volkan, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, University of Virginia
Developing an innovative theoretical framework emphasising the role of (mis)recognition as a means of coping with uncertainty and emergent anxieties, Chernobrov provides a timely and important intervention that fundamentally rethinks the role of perception in public understandings of international crises. For anyone interested in the politics of perception, recognition, emotion and emerging debates about ontological security within international relations, this is a must read. -- Christopher Browning, Reader of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick
This refreshing and original book persuasively demonstrates that popular understanding of foreign affairs, especially at times of crises, is fundamentally shaped by the public's own sense of identity, security, and political memory. Exploring Russian and UK perceptions of the Arab Spring, Chernobrov provides excellent evidence that public attitudes of international politics are based primarily on local anxieties, fears, and hopes. -- Jelena Subotic, Professor of Political Science, Georgia State University
In this eloquent interweaving of insights from ontological security theory, social psychology, international relations, media and audience studies, Chernobrov offers an empirically grounded and theoretically sophisticated exploration of the intricate relationships between identity, emotion and the perceptions of international others. The distant is domesticated as the societal need for positive self-affirmation shapes the public perception of international events. -- Maria Malksoo, Senior Lecturer in International Security, University of Kent
This important book tackles significant dimensions of political imaginings and how these are shaped by insecurities, anxieties and histories of identities. While there are many accounts with the ambition to explain public perceptions of international crises, this book offers a very timely and novel approach to conceptions of crises as understood through the logics of ontological security and positive self-affirmation. -- Catarina Kinnvall, Professor of Politics, Lund University
