ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the visual politics of the state. The term state is often used interchangeably with other similar terms, such as country, nation or nation-state. Conventionally, scholars examine the "state" within both historical and functional contexts. Historically, the state seems to have emerged around the time of the Peace of Westphalia (1648), which was a series of treaties ending the Thirty Years War and embedding the modern nation-state as an entity with authority within a bounded territory that borders other states. The visual politics of "the state" is about the state's aesthetic representation, about how it is displayed, seen, sensed or felt. A state's visual politics is important for at least two audiences: their own national political communities and the broader international society. The practice of aesthetic representation is important to a wide variety of states. Both large states like Russia and smaller status-seeking states like Norway demonstrate an interest in their visual representations.
