This book uses several fantasy movies or movie series and television series to explain political and international relations (IR) concepts and theories. It begins with an overview of the importance of fantasy in literature, film and television, and its increasing impact on the field of International Relations. It then presents the political, IR, and social issues in each franchise, and in five chapters uses these tales’ key story arcs or plot points to illustrate major political and IR themes. The volume pays particular attention to such fantasy franchises as Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, the Harry Potter films, recent fairytale and children’s stories, and female-led fantasy projects.

Joel R. Campbell is Associate Professor of political science at Troy University. He teaches in the Masters of Science in International Relations (MSIR) program in Troy's Pacific Region (Japan and Korea). He has taught at three Japanese universities, including Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, and three Korean universities, most notably Kyung Hee University in Seoul. He has published various articles on the political systems, political economy, the science and technology policy of Japan, China, and South Korea, as well as film and politics. His previous books were about Korean science and technology policy, science fiction movies/television and politics, and genre movies/television and politics.