ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the status of satellite images, particularly how they are often imbued with objectivity and veracity. It addresses the politics inherent in satellite ways of seeing and showing. The chapter discusses the wider significance of the findings for critical visual inquires in international studies. As a technology of remote sensing, satellites gather information by means of distant observation. Similar to other vision-enhancing systems, such as drones or planes, satellites offer a particular form of tele-visuality. Satellite photographs seem to be the perfect resemblance of an external reality. This is why they function as transparent mediators of and to the world. The use of satellite imagery is widespread in global politics. Satellite vision is, hence, not an innocent mode of representation, but subject to political appropriation.
