Tringapore – Singapore in geopolitical comics

Abstract

Geopolitical imaginations are disseminated in a variety of media forms. Looking at everyday user-generated content, popular culture on the internet enables insightful encounters. This paper analyses a community on the social platform Reddit, where so-called Polandballs are shared. These satirical comics, where countries are portrayed as ball-shaped characters, coloured according to national flags, represent diverse geopolitical assemblages. The paper argues for utilising an assemblage approach to track the dynamic and interlinked content creations and discussions by members of the community. Contrary to the Western-centric orientation in the community, the representations of Singapore by Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans are analysed. This highlights narratives which are usually subdued in general geopolitical discourses, which concentrate on countries perceived as important on the world stage. The findings indicate that content creators discuss economic prosperity, international relations, and structural vulnerabilities from different angles. There are popular depictions, yet some offer alternative discourses. Further, audiences challenge perceptions through their active engagement in the assemblages and through including external discursive elements. Hence, the paper shows a suitable application of assemblage thinking when discussing everyday negotiations of geopolitical discourses in hitherto neglected social media spaces and emphasises the role of non-institutionalised geopolitical content creation.