Stigma Management in International Relations

Transgressive Identities, Norms, and Order in International Society

Bibliographic Data

ID6269386
AuthorsRebecca Adler-Nissen (0000-0001-7924-9957, University of Copenhagen, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume68
Issue1
Pages143-176
Publication date2014-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Organization (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-8183 • E-ISSN: 1531-5088
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0020818313000337
OpenAlexW2158659525
LanguageEN
Citations received291
References cited100

This article develops a theoretical approach to stigma in international relations and resituates conventional approaches to the study of norms and international order. Correcting the general understanding that common values and norms are the building blocks of social order, this article claims that international society is in part constructed through the stigmatization of “transgressive” and norm-violating states and their ways of coping with stigma. Drawing on Erving Goffman, this article shows that states are not passive objects of socialization, but active agents. Stigmatized states cope strategically with their stigma and may, in some cases, challenge and even transform a dominant moral discourse. A typology of stigma management strategies is presented:stigma recognition(illustrated by Germany);stigma rejection(illustrated by Austria); and finallycounter-stigmatization(illustrated by Cuba). Because of the lack of agreement on what constitutes normal state behavior, attempts to impose stigma may even have the opposite effect—the stigmatizers become the transgressive. A focus on stigma opens up new avenues for research on norms, identities, and international order

Economics · International relations · Order (exchange · Political science · Transgressive · Geology · International Development and Aid · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law · Political Conflict and Governance

Tools

Open DOISci-HubOpen Access