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Recognition and Collective Identity Formation in International Politics

University of Washington, USA

Applying the model of `recognition politics' to international relations can help to explain the identity-based elements of international conflicts that rationalist models leave out. This article uses psychological theories of identity formation to critically assess the recent move by constructivist scholars (most notably Alexander Wendt) to bring the Hegelian idea of the `struggle for recognition' into the study of IR. Examining recognition theory in this way shows that while the insights of `identity theory' developed in the symbolic interactionist tradition lend support to the idea that recognition of the `other' is essential to constituting the identity of the `self', much of the experimental work carried out within Social Identity Theory and its related fields fails to support the claim that recognition leads to the formation of an over-arching collective identity. Without a credible mechanism for collective identity formation, recognition theory fails to predict fundamental change in the international system.

Key Words: collective identity • constructivism • Hegel • in-group • recognition • social identity theory • Wendt • world state

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