The end of authoritarian rule in 1998 ushered in an exhilarating but unsettled period of democratization in Indonesia. A more open political climate converged with a rapidly changing media landscape, yielding a vibrant and volatile public sphere within which Indonesians grappled with the possibilities and limits of democracy amid entrenched corruption, state violence, and rising forms of intolerance. In Demanding Images Karen Strassler theorizes image-events as political processes in which publicly circulating images become the material ground of struggles over the nation's past, present, and future. Considering photographs, posters, contemporary art, graffiti, selfies, memes, and other visual media, she argues that people increasingly engage with politics through acts of making, circulating, manipulating, and scrutinizing images. Demanding Images is both a closely observed account of Indonesia's turbulent democratic transition and a globally salient analysis of the work of images in the era of digital media and neoliberal democracy. Strassler reveals politics today to be an unruly enterprise profoundly shaped by the affective and evidentiary force of images.

"Demanding Images encourages readers to adopt a valuable new perspective on post-authoritarian Indonesian politics." - PoLAR

"Demanding Images is a fascinating, entertaining, and insightful read. A one-of-a-kind book on Indonesia, it will appeal to those interested in Indonesian media, politics, and society, as well as those who want to understand how images affect politics in our more complex media environment." - Pacific Affairs

"As an interdisciplinary work that draws from a number of sophisticated analytical frameworks, this accessible study holds value far beyond the immediate topic of Indonesian visual culture and public discourse in recent decades." - Choice

"Karen Strassler is highly regarded in Indonesian studies, and . . . her ideas and theories have incredible depth and should be relevant to a larger audience critically engaged with photography and visual culture, those actively trying to grapple with the complexity of images within our social and political experience." - Afterimage

"An engaging and thought-provoking book, which certainly demands attention from anyone with an interest in Media, Cultural, and Area Studies." - Anthropos

"Strassler's notion of the 'image-event' elegently draws attention to the permeability between static and mobile, enduring and fleeting, picture and performance, making her work relevant well beyond the limits of Indonesian studies and her disciplinary home in visual anthropology." - Journal of Anthropological Research

"Whether one is interested in contemporary Indonesian politics, in understanding the role of images in public spheres more generally, or in the production and life of images themselves, this book will certainly be a valuable read." - Anthropology Book Forum