In recent years, celebrities from George Clooney to Bono to Angelina Jolie have attempted to play an increasingly important role in global politics. Celebrity activism is an ever-growing, internationally visible phenomenon—yet the impact of these high-profile humanitarians on public awareness, government support, and mobilization of resources remains under-researched. Bringing together a diverse group of contributors from media studies and public diplomacy, Transnational Celebrity Activism in Global Politics aims to fill that void with a new interdisciplinary framework for the analysis of celebrity activism in international relations.
Lisa Tsaliki is a lecturer in communications and mass media at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
Christos Frangonikolopoulos is assistant professor in politics and international relations at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
Asteris Huliaras is professor of comparative politics at the University of Peloponnese.
Introduction: The Challenge of Transnational Celebrity Activism: Background, Aim and Scope of the Book – Liza Tsaliki, Christos Frangonikolopoulos and Asteris Huliaras
PART I: TRANSNATIONAL CELEBRITY ACTIVISM, DIPLOMACY AND GLOBAL POLITICS
Chapter 1: Bringing the Individuals Back in? Celebrities as Transnational Activists – Asteris Huliaras and Nikolaos Tzifakis
Chapter 2: Celebrity Politics and Cultural Citizenship: UN Goodwill Ambassadors and Messengers of Peace – Mark Wheeler
Chapter 3: The Cosmopolitan-Communitarian Divide and Celebrity Anti-war Activism – Annika Bergman Rosamond
PART II: TRANSNATIONAL CELEBRITY ACTIVISM AND CONFLICT
Chapter 4: ‘Creating a Groundswell or Getting on the Bandwagon? Celebrities, the Media and Distant Conflict’ – Virgil Hawkins
Chapter 5: Can Celebrity Save Diplomacy? Appropriating Wisdom through ‘The Elders’ – Henk Huijser and Jinna Tay
Chapter 6: Fighting Superior Military Power in Chiapas, Mexico: Celebrity Activism and its Limitations – Roy Krøvel
Chapter 7: ‘Hollywood Goes to the Eastern Mediterranean: Spiro S. Skouras and ‘Unorthodox Power’, 1940s and 1950s – Evanthis Hatzivassiliou and Georgios Kazamias
PART III: CELEBRITY ACTIVISM, GLOBAL HUMANITARIANISM AND THE GLOBAL SOUTH
Chapter 8: Consuming Ethics: Conflict Diamonds, the Entertainment Industry and Celebrity Activism – Sue Tait
Chapter 9: The Global Politics of Celebrity Humanitarianism – Riina Yrjölä
Chapter 10: Madonna’s Adoptions: Celebrity Activism, Justice and Civil Society in the Global South – Graham Finlay
PART IV: TRANSNATIONAL CELEBRITY ACTIVISM, ‘CELEBRITYHOOD’ AND MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS
Chapter 11: Linking Small Arms, Child Soldiers, NGOs and Celebrity Activism: Nicolas Cage and the Lord Of War – Michael Stohl, Cynthia Stohl and Rachel Stohl
Chapter 12: Calling a New Tune for Africa? Analysing a Celebrity-led Campaign to Redefine the Debate on Africa – Dorothy Njoroge
Chapter 13: Fame and Symbolic Value in Celebrity Activism and Diplomacy – George Pleios
Chapter 14: Celebrity Culture and Postcolonial Relations within the Portuguese Media Landscape: The Case of Catarina Furtado – Ana Jorge
Chapter 15: Big Dog Celebrity Activists: Barking up the Wrong Tree – Varihi Scott
Conclusion: Making Sense of Transnational Celebrity Activism: Causes, Methods and Consequences – Liza Tsaliki, Christos Frangonikolopoulos and Asteris Huliaras
