Forensic Rhetorics and Satellite Surveillance

Marouf Hasian Jr. is full professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah.

Hasian’s volume offers a valuable contribution to the growing body of work that engages rhetoric and security. The volume pinpoints deadly intersections of language, materiality, and humanitarian intervention. Its detailed, contemporary case studies usefully illustrate the ethics and politics inherent in competing, high-stakes interpretations of satellite imagery among states and citizens. Hasian cautions readers to attend to how forensic rhetorics construct crises in ways that bolster securitization and militarization. Readers will gain an in-depth and nuanced understanding of the suasory power of satellite surveillance.

• ContentsAcknowledgmentsIllustrationsChapter 1: Satellite Imaging, Humanitarian Dreams, and the 21st Century Pursuit of Forensic TruthsChapter 2: Visualizing Srebrenica, The International Criminal Tribunal For the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and the Growing Acceptance of Satellite EvidenceChapter 3: Satellite Imagery and the Visual/Virtual Israeli Occupation of the GazaChapter 4: George Clooney, Surveillance of Sudanese Borders, and the Sentinel ProjectChapter 5: The Drone Wars Over Pakistan and the Aerial “Manhunts” for Taliban and Al Qaeda EnemiesChapter 6: EUROSUR Surveillance, Mediterranean “Search and Rescue,” and the Visualization of Europe’s “Migrant Crisis”Chapter 7: Conclusion: The Constitutive Power of Satellite Surveillance and the Crafting of Securitized and Militarized DispositifsBibliographyIndex