The Visual Framing of ‘Failed’ States: Afro-Pessimism vs Afro-Optimism

Abstract

The ‘failed state’ frame equates the collapse of formal state institutions with violent anarchy and destructive chaos. By analysing newspaper imagery of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia through a multi-method research design, this article shows that tabloid newspapers are significantly more likely to adopt the ‘failed state’ frame than broadsheet newspapers. Visual narratives in the latter, on the other hand, tend to shift the focus away from issues of violence and instability, emphasizing instead the ability of alternative forms of governance to organize social and economic life. Of wider significance, the article therefore also shows that tabloids feed Afro-pessimism discourses to a much greater extent than broadsheets, which visualize Africa in more positive terms.